The future is now… or at least it is coming to a dealership near you soon!
In the first four weeks as the Special Programs Manager, I have learned about mind blowing advances in the use of zero emissions technology. My job is to share what I learn so that you can make an informed decision about adding a Kenworth T680e, K270e, or K370e to your fleet. Later this year, Kenworth Sales will demonstrate a T680e for our customers in the Intermountain West and Truck Enterprises will demonstrate a K270e in the Mid-Atlantic.
My guess is that either you have a lot of questions or you don’t even know what to ask about this topic, yet. Follow this blog and watch for social media posts for both answers and questions. I will give you resources and information about the technology, infrastructure requirements, state fleet mandates, safety, training, and grants designed to help pay for your battery-electric truck.
Back to what I said about mind blowing advances. Greg Bleazard, Trevor Pasmann, Sherry Cisneros, and I visited the ASPIRE research center at Utah State University in Logan. ASPIRE is an acronym for Advancing Sustainability through Powered Infrastructure for Roadway Electrification. Under the direction of Regan Zane, researchers are developing a way to wirelessly charge vehicles using stations embedded into highways. Vehicle batteries will charge as they are driven over the stations. No more stopping every 200 miles for an hour or more to charge! This is a game changing technological advancement that ASPIRE is studying from every angle.
What makes this even more exciting is that Kenworth provided a T680 for them to retrofit for testing at the center. I will be at the ACT Expo in Long Beach, California May 8-12. I’ll check in each day with an update on what I am seeing and hearing. I’ll save the details for future blog posts. Send your questions to mbyrd@kwsco.com. Put “EV Question” in the subject line.
I am excited to bring you along on this road trip to the future!
Mikal Ann Byrd
Special Programs Manager
