Electric work trucks are earning their keep at one of Canada’s busiest container terminals, where Peterbilt’s battery-powered box vans are keeping cargo moving without the air pollution of diesel and propane. And now, they’re getting recognized for it.
“Sustainability in action. We’re thrilled to congratulate our partners at GCT for winning the BC Hydro Luminaries Project of the Year,” reads the official Peterbilt copy. “Seeing our Peterbilt 520EV fuel tankers and 220EV lubrication trucks powering the largest fleet rollout of any terminal in Canada is a true testament to the hard work of everyone involved.”
Port of Vancouver terminal operator GCT has committed to reducing its absolute emissions by 45% by 2030 and reaching true net zero by 2050 across both its Vanterm and Deltaport terminals. As part of that effort, GCT is rolling out a fleet of electric equipment assets that includes two electric Peterbilts – a 220EV lubrication service truck that maintains the terminal’s rubber-tired gantry cranes and a 520EV tanker that refuels older, diesel-powered equipment still sprinkled around the company’s terminals.
For their parts, Peterbilt executives seem to like getting awards and being called luminaries. “This is a perfect example of electrification innovation,” wrote Peterbilt national sales manager, Martin Blanchet, on LinkedIn. “Zero-Emission vehicles operating on port premises typically have high idle ratios and significant ePTO requirements, making them an ideal fit for Peterbilt’s electric vocational trucks. Congratulations to GCT Global Container Terminals and Peterbilt Pacific on this great deployment.”
The trucks, themselves
A quick perusal of Peterbilt’s website indicates that the trucks themselves are standard Peterbilt offerings that have been upfit for their particular vocations. The 220EV is offered with up to 282 kWh of battery capacity and up to 259 kW (~345 hp) of continuous power, while the heavier duty 520EV packs 400 kWh and puts out 400 kW (~535 hp). Both trucks do their jobs without tailpipe emissions, of course, dramatically reducing the air pollution typically associated with conventional, diesel-powered trucks AND saving GCT big money.
These trucks join the fleet of electric Peterbilt 579EV Class 8 trucks that’s already being put to work on container-hauling routes at the Port of Vancouver as part of a new, data-sharing pilot program designed to measure real-world benefits of electric drayage trucks on first-mile delivery routes. Funded through Canada’s ELECTRA (ELEctric Container TRucking progrAm), the new pilot is working with five port shipping companies, providing heavily subsidized 60-month lease terms on new Class 8 electric semi trucks and their supporting charging infrastructure.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Peterbilt, via LinkedIn.
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