All-Electric in Transport Refrigeration Fleets Is Here To Stay

Excitement is in the air within the Transportation Industry... in fact, it is electrifying! The pace of innovation happening within the industry is accelerating quickly as the push towards electrification and sustainable fleets become a priority for manufacturers, customers, and environmental advocates alike.

As an industry leader, Thermo King has committed to that acceleration in many ways. This includes major investments in talent and skill sets, research and development, real-world testing, and collaboration with customers, industry partners, educational institutions, and OEMs. With the goal to move technological ideation forward quickly by focusing on customer needs, environmental responsibility, and our 2030 Sustainability Commitments, industry-changing product innovation is taking place in real-time.

The electrification of the Transportation Industry is happening in every product segment and its success is being documented through testing partnerships while also driving future innovation that is customer-centric. And that is key to develop end-products that perform reliably and deliver the accurate temperature control expected – and required, for sensitive food products and pharmaceuticals. To ensure this, Thermo King is investing $100 million by 2023 into our evolve™ product portfolio to ensure electric options in every segment of the cold chain so that transport customers can feel confident in reducing their environmental impact and meeting their sustainability goals while transitioning fleets to stay ahead of future regulation.

Real Progress with Real Incentives

Here in North America, small trucks and delivery vans frequently used in the fast-growing home-delivery market, as well as by middle and last-mile delivery customers have all-electric refrigeration options including the e200 unit with R452 lower GWP refrigerant introduced last year. And now, large straight trucks have an option too – with the e1000 all-electric unit that is being launched soon.

Innovative efforts like these are being noticed by the industry and fleets across the country. Indeed, fleets are being rewarded for adopting electrified solutions to accelerate the push towards zero-emission targets with California continuing to lead the way.

Most recently, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced its Clean Off-Road Equipment Voucher Incentive Project (CORE). The streamlined $125 million voucher incentive project offers point-of-sale discounts to encourage California off-road equipment users to purchase or lease currently commercialized zero-emission off-road equipment, helping to offset the higher cost of zero-emission technology.   

CORE voucher amounts are based on the incremental cost difference between traditional equipment and new zero-emission alternatives. Additional funding is available for charging infrastructure, equipment deployed in pollution overburdened communities (DACs), and equipment purchased by small businesses – definitely opportunities to check out. 

We are proud that our all-electric e200 and e1000 transport refrigeration units (TRUs) for trucks are eligible to receive discounts through the CORE program. Both units meet California CORE technology eligibility due to their electric system structure and emission control. The e200 and e1000 TRUs are zero emissions and have no connection to any diesel unit/increase in tailpipe emissions due to their technology structure. In addition, both units meet or exceed the CORE incentive warranty requirement of three-year comprehensive coverage or 5,000 compressor hours (whichever comes first). 

More incentives, more to come

Electrified options will continue to expand, and the technology of the future is here now. Thermo King is committed to the innovation and in accelerating solutions that will help customers and our industry reach zero-emission targets. The incentives, grants and opportunities available to ensure an easier transition are already available – and constantly changing. Be sure to check the local, federal, state and province offerings regularly, or ask your nearest Thermo King dealer to assist you with your fleet goals.

Preeti Subramanian is a senior product manager for Truck at Thermo King Americas

Originally posted on Charged Fleet