Schneider received its first eCascadia battery electric semi-truck. It is furthering its plan to build one of the largest electric truck fleets in North America. The Wisconsin-based company, Green Bay received the first almost 100 eCascadias from Daimler Truck. The order was from Daimler Truck in North America operations.
The eCascadias will join Schneider’s Southern California intermodal operations, and Schneider will build 16 EV charging stations to power the electric trucks. The company expects that all of its eCascadia trucks will be fully operational by the end of 2023.
The eCascadia semi has two battery capacity offerings. The 438 kWh battery provides a driving range of 230 miles on the 4×2 configuration or 220 miles on the 6×4 configuration. The 291 kWh battery provides a range of 155 miles on the 4×2 configuration. Freightliner states on its website that the eCascadia can charge from 0-80% in as little as 90 minutes. Schneider says that its eCascadia fleet will have the potential to avoid over 81,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per day. Annually, that’s equivalent to removing 2,400 gas cars from the road. Schneider has set a goal to reduce CO2 per-mile emissions by 7.5% by 2025 and 60% by 2035. It says it’s reduced its per-mile emissions by 5% to date.
Battery truck fleet
Schneider says on its website that it has “approximately 9,000 company tractors” and “approximately 36,700 company trailers.” So it’s going to have to retire a whole lot of gas trucks in order to achieve its 60% by 2035 goal. So, let’s hope it delivers on that “largest battery electric truck fleets in North America” plan.
The eCascadias will join Schneider’s Southern California Intermodal operations. To power the BEVs, Schneider is constructing 16 charging stations. The company looks forward to offering its customers the option to use a cleaner mode of shipping, pairing electric trucks with intermodal services results in a method of freight transportation with extremely low carbon emissions. The eCascadias have the potential to avoid over 81,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per day. Over the course of a year, that is equivalent to removing 2,400 gas-powered cars from the road.
Battery electric trucks are a crucial component in Schneider’s efforts to reach its sustainability goals of reducing CO2 per-mile emissions by 7.5% by 2025 and 60% by 2035. Schneider has already achieved more than half of its 2025 goal by reducing per-mile emissions by 5%. Battery electric trucks will help move the company even further toward these goals. Schneider has long been committed to improving the sustainability of freight transportation. The company is regularly recognized by third parties and customers for those efforts.