Food distributor Sysco unveiled its vision for the ‘Riverside Electric Vehicle Hub’. Known to readers from a significant order for electric trucks, the new infrastructure will transform the company’s distribution centre into the “focal point of its electrified fleet”.

Sysco adds that the Riverside project was a “foundational step” toward its goal of incorporating 2,800 electric trucks into its US fleet by 2030, amounting to about 35% of vehicles becoming zero-emission. Of these trucks, 800 have been on order with Daimler Truck North America (DTNA) since May 2022.

Sysco operates eleven Freightliner eCascadia tractors at its Riverside facility and expects to deploy 20 total by summer 2023. The whole order is to be completed by 2026.

These e-trucks need charging, and current plans released today include 40 dual-port DC fast-charging stations in support of 40 electric Class-8 vehicles and 40 electric refrigerated trailers.

To accommodate the energy demands of this growing fleet, the Riverside site will also feature 4 MWh of battery storage and will increase its solar power generation by an additional 1.5 MW, Sysco writes. The target announced via video ahead of Earth Day is 100% renewable energy.

“This investment demonstrates our commitment to sustainability and responsible growth and will ultimately help us reach our goal of reducing our direct carbon emissions by 27.5 per cent by 2030,” said Marie Robinson, EVP, chief supply chain officer at Sysco.

She added that this was a “massive collaborative effort that required years of planning. We’re grateful to our many partners on this journey for their vision, innovation and leadership in bringing the transportation and infrastructure technology to market to support this project.”

InCharge Energy and ABB E-mobility are supplying and preparing to activate 40 Terra 124 DC fast chargers. Already tested for vehicle interoperability and reliability, these stations will facilitate daily quick and timely charging of all vehicles.