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US not-for-profit to spend $250 mln on electrical trucks to rent at California ports

U.S. not-for-profit Climate United on Tuesday announced a plan to invest as much as $250 million to buy as lots of as 500 electrical semi trucks over 3 years in what it called the biggest single order of those zeroemissions trucks in the nation up until now.

Environment United then intends to rent those automobiles at attractive rates to truckers that carry containers to and from California seaports, where approximately 33,000 so-called drayage trucks need to have zero tailpipe emissions by 2035.

The program might offer a much-needed shock to the adoption of heavy-duty electrical trucks that now account for less than 1% of the overall U.S. trucking fleet. Those cars can cost as much as 3 times more than standard diesel variations that are a. major source of planet-warming greenhouse gases.

High upfront expenses make it hard for independent. owner-operators and small fleets to transition to all-electric,. said Beth Bafford, CEO of Climate United.

The Maryland-based nonprofit stated it prepares to make preliminary. orders in the first quarter of 2025 which it is prioritizing. class 8 trucks that are assembled in the United States with. domestically made parts.

Trucks from producers like Volvo Trucks North America. , BYD and Kenworth. currently are shuttling freight around ports in California,. consisting of the nation's busiest seaport complex in Los Angeles. and Long Beach.

Environment United's program is funded by a $6.97 billion grant. from the National Clean Investment Fund, part of the Greenhouse. Gas Reduction Fund produced under President Joe Biden's Inflation. Decrease Act.

Environment United likewise is partnering with Online forum Mobility, which. is building charging depots in California ports and along common. freight paths.

For so long, this has actually been the story of the chicken and the. egg. You can't have the trucks before you have the charging, and. you can't have the charging before you have the trucks, said. Jacqueline Torres, a vice president at Forum Mobility.

This program brings both of those together..

(source: Reuters)