Volvo Trucks North America customer, Quality Custom Distribution (QCD)—a Golden State Foods (GSF) company—is increasing its commitment to zero-tailpipe emission freight transport with its latest order of 30 Volvo VNR Electrics. In early 2023, the battery-electric Class 8 trucks will be deployed in QCD’s Southern California fleet operations delivering products to restaurants and coffee shops throughout Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.

This multi-stakeholder electrification project, announced during a press event on 9 May at the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo, includes 16 fast chargers and a renewable energy microgrid to power the chargers.

Each year, QCD’s fleet of 700 Class 8 tractors makes more than one million last-mile deliveries from its 26 distribution centers across the US, averaging more than 35 million miles on the road annually. The company’s investment in Volvo VNR Electric, which now includes 45 trucks, is a central part of its strategy to help its customers reduce their supply chain emissions.

Last April, QCD ordered its first batch of 14 leased Volvo VNR Electric trucks with funding support from a grant awarded to Volvo Financial Services from the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee’s (MSRC) Inland Port Program. The first Volvo VNR Electrics from the 2021 order will start operations this month out of its distribution center in Fontana, California. The remaining trucks of the order will be deployed throughout 2022 and early 2023.

As part of the MSRC grant, VFS is working with QCD to fund the charging infrastructure for its Fontana facility by leasing two portable DCFS 50 KW chargers and eight permanent DCFS 180 KW charging stations.

With the deployment of the 30 additional Volvo VNR Electrics, QCD is expanding its zero-tailpipe emission fleet to operate from a second distribution center in La Puente, California. QCD received funding for the 30 Volvo VNR Electrics through the Southern California Association of Governments’ (SCAG) Last Mile Freight Program, established in partnership with MSRC.

To bolster the environmental and economic benefits of the project further, as well as increase resiliency, QCD has partnered with Scale Microgrid Solutions to build a clean energy microgrid to power its La Puente’s battery-electric fleet and distribution center.

InCharge Energy will supply and maintain fast charging stations utilizing onsite renewable energy generated by a microgrid developed by Scale Microgrid Solutions to support QCD’s growing Volvo VNR Electric fleet.

The microgrid for QCD’s charging infrastructure will include features such as:

• A combined 1,200kW of rooftop solar, 250kW of carport solar, 3 megawatt hours (MWh) of battery storage, and 1,500 kilowatts (kW) of backup generation.

• A modular design approach using pre-engineered components, which accelerates the project construction and installation process, minimizes interruption to QCD fleet operations and makes it easy and affordable to scale as more EVs are added to QCD’s fleet.

QCD partners with Volvo Trucks’ dealership Gateway Truck & Refrigeration to develop their evolving fleet and order the Volvo VNR Electrics as part of its national fleet procurement strategy. Located in the St. Louis area, Gateway is in the process of becoming a Volvo Trucks Certified Electric Vehicle (EV) Dealer so that its team can support customers throughout its Missouri and Illinois service territory with their electromobility goals.