SouthCoast AQMD Leads North America’s Largest Deployment of Class 8 Battery‐Electric Trucks with NFI

The South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) is leading a landmark effort along with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Energy Commission (CEC) to deploy 100 battery‐electric regional haul and drayage trucks across California. The battery‐electric trucks will be deployed through a partnership with NFI Industries (NFI) and Schneider.

The project, known as Joint Electric Truck Scaling Initiative, or JETSI, is the largest commercial deployment of battery‐electric trucks in North America to date, helping to significantly increase the number of zero‐emission heavy‐duty trucks available for goods movement while achieving necessary emission reductions. This is the first battery‐electric truck project jointly financed by CARB and the CEC, and the largest investment of its kind.

“We are proud to be a part of this historic initiative here in Southern California,” said South Coast AQMD Board Member Gideon Kracov. “The agency has always been a leader in innovative collaborations that help advance zero‐emission transportation and protect the health of our communities.”

The project is poised to reduce five tons of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) annually along Southern California’s I‐710 corridor, as well as eliminate 8,247 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Connecting the San Pedro Bay Port complex to inland distribution centers and warehouses, the I‐710 sees more than twice the average Los Angeles freeway truck traffic and accounts for 20% of all PM emissions in Southern California. The JETSI project will inform large fleets on the capabilities of battery‐electric trucks to ensure the emission reductions achieved are sustainable and improve the air quality for communities most impacted.

“Projects like JETSI are needed to help accelerate the large‐scale manufacturing of zero‐emission trucks. They also demonstrate to other fleet operators how zero‐emission technologies are commercially competitive, especially when it comes to cost savings on fuel and maintenance,” said CARB Chair Liane Randolph. “Putting more of these trucks on our roads and highways as soon as we can is a primary goal of the Newsom administration, and crucial to cleaning up the air in communities adjacent to our ports and along the highways now crammed with diesel‐powered trucks.”

Project partners Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) and Volvo Trucks North America (Volvo Trucks) will produce and deliver the Class 8 battery‐electric trucks (BETs) for deployment in Schneider and NFI’s Southern California fleet operations. Operating almost exclusively in disadvantaged communities, the zero‐emission trucks will replace the equivalent of more than 690,000 diesel‐gallons annually while helping to accelerate commercialization of heavy‐duty battery‐electric vehicles across the market.

“We are proud to support JETSI,” said CEC Commissioner Patty Monahan. “Not only will this create good paying jobs, it will reduce diesel pollution and improve air quality for residents disproportionately impacted by transportation emissions. This project is demonstrating to the world how electric trucks can deliver goods efficiently while zeroing out pollution.”

DTNA will deliver 80 battery‐electric Freightliner eCascadias, the company’s first all‐electric commercial Class 8 truck, to both Schneider (50 trucks) and NFI (30 trucks). Schneider will deploy the 50 eCascadias within its intermodal operations in Southern California. Volvo Trucks will deliver another 20 VNR Electric trucks, an all‐electric Class 8 model that the company commercialized in late 2020, to NFI. With the deployment of a combined 50 BETs at its Ontario facility, NFI will operate the first 100% zero‐emission freight logistics fleet in California. Through the JETSI project, NFI and Schneider will collectively install significant charging infrastructure (50 chargers total), warehouse upgrades, on‐site energy storage and rooftop solar, resulting in more than $16.8 million of regional economic activity from associated construction costs. Over 20 project partners representing charging equipment manufacturers, infrastructure providers, nonprofit organizations, technology suppliers and more will collaborate on the eight‐year project to ensure all aspects of fleet electrification are considered.

The project was funded with $26.98 million from CARB’s California Climate Investments Initiative and the CEC’s Clean Transportation Program, $5.43 million from South Coast AQMD, as well as $41.37 million in funding from project partners. JETSI represents an unprecedented industry‐wide collaboration among more than 20 public and private stakeholders. The project was assembled and will be led by South Coast Air Quality Management District along with support from the California Air Resources Board, California Energy Commission, the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC), Schneider, NFI Industries, Daimler Trucks North America, and Volvo Trucks North America. Partners including Green Paradigm Consulting, Power Electronics, Electrify Commercial, Gladstein, Neandross & Associates (GNA), Coalition for Clean Air, CALSTART, Electric Power Research Institute, Ricardo Strategic Consulting, Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, Black & Veatch, and University of California, Riverside. The Port of Long Beach, Port of Los Angeles, and Southern California Edison will also be contributing to the project.

About the South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD)
South Coast AQMD is the air pollution control agency for major portions of Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties, including the Coachella Valley. For news, air quality alerts, event updates and more, please visit us at www.aqmd.gov, download our award‐winning app, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About the California Air Resources Board (CARB)
CARB’s mission is to promote and protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and considering effects on the economy. CARB is the lead agency for climate change programs and oversees all air pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain health‐based air quality standards. JETSI is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap‐and‐Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities.

About the California Energy Commission (CEC)
The California Energy Commission is leading the state to a 100 percent clean energy future. It has seven core responsibilities: developing renewable energy, transforming transportation, increasing energy efficiency, investing in energy innovation, advancing state energy policy, certifying thermal power plants, and preparing for energy emergencies. CEC’s Clean Transportation Program invests up to $100 million annually to support California communities, increase access to zero‐emission vehicle infrastructure, support innovation, and accelerate the deployment of advanced transportation and fuel technologies.