Daimler Trucks North America, Portland General Electric launch first heavy heavy-duty electric truck charging site

Collaboration between Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) and Portland General Electric (PGE) has yielded Electric Island — the first vehicle charging site designed specifically for heavy-duty trucks.

Meant to encourage the use of zero emissions commercial vehicles, the site is nevertheless open to the public for all levels of electric vehicle charging. It opened this week with eight vehicle charging stations usable by electric cars, buses, box vans, and semi-trucks.

“Through collaboration with great partners like Portland General Electric, we are helping to shape the future of carbon-neutral freight transportation, starting right here in the City of Portland,” DTNA President and CEO John O’Leary said. “Moreover, the manufacture of reliable, durable, and efficient medium- and heavy-duty battery electric trucks will take place just down the road at our Portland Truck Manufacturing Plant, demonstrating that we truly are crafting an Electric Island.”

The site had been under construction since last year and is located across the street from DTNA headquarters. It specifically had the West Coast Clean Transit Corridor Initiative — a collaborative effort between nine electric utilities and two government agencies to electrify 1,300 miles of the I-5 corridor — in mind during construction.

In addition to offering a public charging site, Electric Island will act as an innovation center for PGE and DTNA alike, giving them an active site to research energy management, along with charger use and performance in the real world.

“Oregon is leading the way on the future of electric commercial vehicle production and charging,” PGE President and CEO Maria Pope said. “Our partnership with Daimler Trucks North America shows how working together we can accelerate the clean energy transition.”

The chargers at the site are designed to be swapped out with new technology in the future. Eventually, the site will use vehicle charges capable of power delivery over 1 MW, integrate heavy-duty charging technology into PGE’s Smart Grid and allow fleet and energy management testing opportunities for both organizations. In the future, Electric Island could also host on-site energy storage, solar power generation, and a product and technology showcase building.