FedEx plans to electrify 42 stations in California through an agreement with Chanje Energy and the freight operator maintains it is one of the largest deployments of integrated charging infrastructure by a single commercial fleet to date.
FedEx announced the addition of 1,000 Chanje V8100 electric delivery vehicles to its fleet last November. It is purchasing 100 of the vehicles from Chanje Energy and leasing 900 from Ryder System.
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“The vehicles and DC charging infrastructure will not only help FedEx meet our operational efficiency and sustainability goals, but provide learning, scaling and experience to others in the vehicle electrification journey,” said FedEx chief sustainability officer, Mitch Jackson.
The DC charging system was designed specifically for FedEx. The project will support daily charging for more than 1,000 electric vehicles, which were leased to FedEx. Features include:
- Higher maximum power output than standard Level 2 chargers
- Variable rate technology allowing FedEx to proactively adjust charging speed or shift energy usage away from peak hours to minimise electric utility bills
- DC (direct current) charging hardware, which is 10% more efficient than AC (alternating current) charging
- Software platform for remote monitoring and real-time charger controls
Chanje Energy will start production of the EVs later this year. The vehicles are manufactured by FDG Electric Vehicles Limited in Hangzhou, China and purchased through Chanje Energy, the company’s subsidiary for global business. They will be delivered on a rolling basis during the next year.
Ryder System will provide maintenance and distribution support services for all the vehicles.
FedEx has been using all-electric vehicles as part of its pickup-and-delivery fleet since 2009.
