Venture Logistics looks to make WAVEs with new e-charging port
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Thanks to a federal grant and a permit snafu, Indianapolis-based Venture Logistics is now the beneficiary of a new charging technology for electric semi-trucks.
The new gadget is a charging pad that can take a truck from empty to fully charged in 20 minutes, the company says. Better yet, the pad is wireless, meaning truck drivers only need to drive the front of their vehicle over the pad for the fueling to begin.
The pad currently sits at Venture Logistics‘ warehouse in Lafayette, and it represents a partnership among four entities teaming up to make it feasible for more trucks to run on electricity. WAVE is the company behind the new charger, which it made compatible with EV technology developed by Columbus-based Cummins Inc.
Venture uses Cummins products, including a few electric trucks, and the new endeavor is being funded in part by an $8.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
“This is a really win-win-win. This is how it should work,” Venture Chief Operating Officer Justin Weber told Inside INdiana Business. “You couldn’t create more alignment.”
The WAVE charging pad works quickly, which solves a big problem in the trucking industry. There are numerous chargers on the market for electric trucks, but they take an hour and a half or more, which makes entire fleets of electric trucks unfeasible.
Weber said the charging works via induction, and the real innovation is how WAVE managed to keep the battery cool despite the massive heat given off by the rapid charging reaction. Weber anticipates the new, quick charging will be highly efficient on shorter runs if a charging port is installed at the start and end of the route.
For Venture, that works well since the company does a lot of logistics work for Subaru, which has a manufacturing plant on the east side of Lafayette.
“Imagine this…I start at a warehouse and pick up my goods. As I’m waiting for those goods, I roll over an induction charger for a 20-minute charge. Perfect,” Weber said. “This is about finding the right duty cycle and length of haul for this type of charging station.”
The chargers look to be a good fit for Venture in Indiana, but that wasn’t the original plan. WAVE is based in Utah and intended to pilot its charging pad at the Port of Los Angeles and the many short trips shipping companies make from the docks to warehouses further inland. However, the company didn’t get the required permits and had to scramble.
Weber said that WAVE worked with Cummins, which in turn recommended Venture as a good alternative.
Venture has a fleet of around 1,100 trucks in Indiana, though very few are electric. Weber said Venture will always look at electric alternatives when they make practical sense. In general, diesel trucks have more flexibility while electric ones are often limited by available charging ports and other factors. But as EV battery infrastructure improves, even electric semi-trucks become more feasible.
“This is very, very early in the process, especially with WAVE,” Weber said. “This is proving the technology so that at some point it can get into production. We’re pretty far out in front of this.”
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, medium and heavy-duty trucks are responsible for 23% of the country’s carbon emissions related to transportation.