U.S. Department of Energy supports battery electric drayage trucks
Wireless Advanced Vehicle Electrification (WAVE) has selected its “High-Power Extreme Fast Charging Development and Deployment for Electric Drayage Trucks at the Port of Los Angeles” and $8.4M project award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Batteries and Electrification to enable extreme fast charging funding opportunity.
WAVE will partner with Cummins Inc., Schneider Electric, Utah State University and Total Transportation Services Inc. (TTSI) to develop, deploy, and demonstrate a first-of-its-kind 500kW “XMEG” wireless inductive charger to support zero-emission (ZE) battery electric drayage trucks. The solution leverages USU technology for a direct Medium Voltage grid connection to greatly reduce the cost, size, and complexity of installed XMEG systems.
“This is a critical technology because battery electric commercial vehicles will play an important role in improving air quality in cities and ports, but charging infrastructure can be a barrier to their adoption,” said Michael Masquelier, WAVE’s chief executive officer. “WAVE looks forward to a fruitful partnership with DOE and we are proud to help make zero-emission freight truck operations a reality.”
WAVE technology transfers power through the air, from an embedded charging pad placed in the pavement to a receiving pad mounted on the vehicle's undercarriage, reducing the amount of on-board storage needed to operate. The innovative WAVE extreme fast charger will allow TTSI’s ZE drayage trucks to charge during normal cargo loading and unloading stops.
Combined with the groundbreaking improvements enabling extreme fast charge, this “top-off” charge capability will significantly extend the uptime of the trucks, eliminating battery range concerns and enabling them to complete the rigorous duty cycles associated with around-the-clock freight operations.
Utah-based WAVE will deploy and field test the system this year and next. The new system will be installed at TTSI at the Port of Los Angeles.
“This is an important step in TTSI’s innovative push to reduce emissions throughout its terminal operations,” Victor La Rosa, CEO & founder of TTSI, noted. “Data gathered from this project will provide critical insights not only to TTSI but also to the port and freight sectors at large. The model that we are building will form a blueprint that any port operator looking to significantly reduce emissions can follow.”
This project will showcase the technologies enabling the zero-emission future of port functions. Cummins is integrating an electric powertrain that will successfully meet the operational needs of this demanding application at the Port of Los Angeles.
“We are pleased to work with these partners and develop our experience with extreme wireless fast charging, a key technology to enable broader adoption of electric powertrains,” said Wayne Eckerle, vice president of research and technology at Cummins. “Our goal is to bring multiple clean power solutions to markets to help improve the environment while powering our customers’ success.”
