While the EU is still debating whether German companies, lured by the "Inflation Reduction Act" which promotes the US energy transition, electromobility and the switch to hydrogen, could relocate further production sites to the United States, Daimler is also following the signals.
Colton, a town of 54,000 in California's San Bernardino County, will be the first location in a series of planned charging stations for battery-electric commercial vehicles along Interstate 15, a major highway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on the same day that Greenlane announced it had received a $15 million grant from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). This is a small part of $500 million in support announced by the Biden-Harris administration for efforts to reduce emissions from transportation and freight traffic in Southern California. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the commitment in late July under the national grant program funded by the aforementioned Inflation Reduction Act.
Image: Daimler/Greenlane
Greenlane, a joint venture between Daimler Truck North America LLC, NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, and the often-criticized asset manager BlackRock (through a fund managed by its Climate Infrastructure business unit), officially broke ground on September 9 for its first charging station in Colton. This marks the start of construction on the company's first commercial charging corridor, which will essentially stretch from the metropolitan areas of Los Angeles, California, to Las Vegas, Nevada, along Interstate 15. Once fully operational, the Colton site will feature more than 60 charging points for zero-emission commercial vehicles of heavy, medium, and light weight.
“The establishment of this first charging station in Colton is a testament to the power of a shared vision and successful collaboration,” said John O’Leary, President and CEO of Daimler Truck North America.
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“We are confident that this project will help accelerate the acceptance of zero-emission vehicles and advance the future of sustainable mobility by addressing the urgent need for a publicly accessible, nationwide charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.”
The $15 million grant will enable Greenlane to accelerate the development of its Colton site for its commercial EV charging corridor. The funding specifically allocated to the Colton site will be used for site planning and engineering, as well as the expansion of charging infrastructure, to shorten development times and allow the site to open by the end of 2024.
Greenlane, together with its joint venture partners, is developing a nationwide network of commercial charging infrastructure in the USA. Starting with the electrification of heavy, medium, and light commercial vehicles, the charging locations will also serve customers with battery-electric passenger cars and light commercial vehicle fleets. Greenlane also plans to offer hydrogen refueling stations for commercial vehicles in the near future.
Groundbreaking ceremony in Colton
Greenlane addresses the urgent need for publicly accessible, nationwide electric charging infrastructure for commercial vehicles, and especially for long-distance freight transport.
