Powerful Electric Trucks to be Manufactured in Los Angeles

Built for hauling containers around the Port of Los Angeles, the heavy duty electric short-haul drayage truck can pull a 60,000 pound cargo container at a top speed of 40 miles per hour - with zero emissions.

Balqon Corporation, the local manufacturer of this emissions-free truck, plans to open an assembly plant in the Harbor City area of Los Angeles, with 47 green collar employees and the potential to bring more jobs and millions in business and tax revenue to Los Angeles.

Originally a demonstration project co-funded by the Port of Los Angeles and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, or SCAQMD, the electric tractor was the result of nearly a year of development and testing.

Balqon electric truck at the Port of Los Angeles (Photo courtesy Port of Los Angeles)

"Electric trucks can provide the backbone we need for a substantially cleaner drayage fleet serving our ports in the years to come," said Los Angeles Harbor Commission President S. David Freeman. "We could eliminate a lot of truck pollution in and around the port with a fleet of these workhorses."

The Port has ordered five on-road electric trucks at a cost of $208,500 each. Balqon will work with the Port and Department of Transportation to obtain the appropriate certification for on-road use. In total, the Port is investing more than $5.6 million to demonstrate the viability of the electric drayage trucks.

Because the Port placed Balqon's first sizeable production order, in consideration, Balqon will provide a royalty payment to the Port for each vehicle it sells or leases worldwide, providing another stream of income to the Port.

"Our collaborative efforts with Balqon not only offer enormous potential for the future deployment of all-electric short-haul drayage trucks at our port and other ports worldwide, but it could also provide a royalty funding stream that we can use to re-invest into the development of other zero-emissions goods movement applications," said Port Executive Director Geraldine Knatz.

"The operating cost of the electric truck is 15 percent of the current fossil fuel powered vehicles used in similar application," said Balqon chief executive Balwinder Samra. "Due to high idling time that drayage trucks typically endure, we think the annual savings for truck operators could be $35,000 or more."

The short-haul trucks can go at least 30 miles per battery charge. The battery charger can charge up to four electric trucks simultaneously in four hours and can also provide up to 60 percent of the charge in one hour to meet peak demands during daily operations, the company says.

On a kilowatt hour of energy cost-basis, this heavy-haul electric truck costs roughly 20 cents a mile to operate. On a per-mile cost-basis, a common diesel truck could cost anywhere from four to nine times as much, the company says.

Balqon truck plugged in for a battery recharge. (Photo courtesy Port of Los Angeles)

Future widespread application of a fleet of electric trucks would be especially useful at the Port of Los Angeles because, on an annual basis, more than two million truck drayage trips take place between the port terminals and rail and warehouse facilities within five to ten miles of San Pedro Bay.

"Smart, environmentally-friendly growth at the Port is a priority," said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "We are telling the people of our Port communities that the days of big, belching black smoke are numbered. We are investing in technology that will clean our Port, clear our skies, and grow green jobs."

An overall calculation of net emissions reductions still needs to be performed in order to take into account the emissions created in the generation of electric power used to charge the truck's batteries.

In 2006, port staff estimated that 1.2 million truck trips occurred between the two ports in San Pedro Bay and a local near-dock rail yard, known as the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility, where the containers go to continue their journey over land.

If those 1.2 million truck trips were made with zero emission electric trucks, an estimated 35,605 tons of tailpipe emissions would be eliminated, staff estimated.

The San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan approved by the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbor commissions in November 2006 is targeting an 80 percent reduction in port related truck pollution.

The reduction will be accomplished by replacing the aging fleet of 16,000 trucks that serve the ports with new liquid natural gas and clean diesel rigs that meet 2007 federal emissions standards.

An electric drayage truck could help meet this goal by providing a zero tailpipe emissions alternative to combustion-powered vehicles.

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