The Volvo LIGHTS project concludes as VNR Electric demand rises
Volvo Trucks North America announced the culmination of the Volvo LIGHTS project—an innovative three-year project that brought together 14 public and private partners to design and implement a blueprint for the robust support ecosystem necessary to deploy battery-electric trucks and equipment at scale.
During the project, which ran from 2019 to 2022 in California’s South Coast Air Basin, Volvo Trucks deployed its first Class 8 pilot Volvo VNR Electric trucks to fleet operators to collect real-world operating data. Since the VNR Electric’s commercial debut in late 2020, orders for more than 1,000 units have been received.
The Volvo LIGHTS project was led by Volvo Group North America and California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD). They worked with more than a dozen regional partners. During the multi-year project, Volvo Group North America collaborated with each organization to develop programs and best practices that would help lay the foundation for the successful commercialization of battery-electric freight trucks.
“This project shows how important it is for public and private entities to work together to bring zero-emission technologies and infrastructure to the nation,” said Ben J. Benoit, Chair of South Coast AQMD’s Governing Board. “Now that the project is coming to an end, we look forward to seeing these cleaner trucks on the road and the positive impact they will have on air quality.”