New York City’s largest food rescue organization is helping Bronx residents breathe a little bit easier with the recent acquisition and upcoming deployment of three brand-new, zero emission Volvo VNR Electric semi trucks.
The electric semi trucks were purchased last week by City Harvest, New York City’s largest food rescue organization, and are set to be equipped with battery-electric transport refrigeration units, enabling true zero-tailpipe emissions during food rescue and delivery operations across all five New York City boroughs as part of the Bronx is Breathing initiative.
“City Harvest rescues and delivers millions of pounds of food to New Yorkers every year. We are proud that these new electric trucks will support that crucial mission with cleaner, quieter operations,” explains Keith Brandis, Head of Policy & Regulatory Affairs, North America, Volvo Group’s Trucks Technology & Industrial Division. “The Bronx is Breathing initiative shows how targeted infrastructure investment and community partnerships can accelerate the adoption of electric trucks in dense urban freight environments.”
In addition to reducing tailpipe emissions, each of the three popular Volvo VNR Electric semi trucks deployed by the food rescue group will be equipped with battery-electric transport refrigeration units, enabling true zero-tailpipe emissions during food rescue and delivery operations across all five New York City boroughs.
The purchase of the new HDEVs was supported by a $10 million award from the New York Clean Transportation Prizes program, an initiative designed to reduce noise and air pollution in South Bronx neighborhoods, which border one of the nation’s busiest freight corridors.
City Harvest’s trucks are part of a broader, eight-vehicle Volvo Group deployment being funded through the New York Clean Transportation Prizes program, which is intended to support food distribution, waste operations, and local food deliveries of more than 250,000 lbs. throughout New York every day. Their work is made possible through the efforts of grocers, farms, manufacturers, and local restaurants who are combating food waste and delivering excesses to food pantries, soup kitchens, and other community programs.
Good work
As far as the trucks themselves go, the Volvo VNR Electric in City Harvest’s daycab configuration features a 565 kWh battery pack that sends juice to a 340 kW (~450 hp) electric motor putting more than 4,000 lb-ft of torque to the ground for hassle-free hauling up to ~82,000 lbs. of combined vehicle weight up to 275 miles away from its starting point on a single charge.
And speaking of charging, that responsibility will be handled by a freight-focused public charging hub being developed by MN8 Energy in the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center, which will feature 32 DC fast chargers, including stalls for heavy-duty Class 8 trucks plus 10 Level-2 chargers, when it becomes operational in 2029.
SOURCE | IMAGES: City Harvest, Volvo Trucks.
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