The contours of what electric vehicle (EV) charging might have to look like down a steadily “greening” road are taking shape at a new learning-focused, commercial charging complex in Portland, Ore., recently recognized for innovative design by Fast Company magazine.
The site, dubbed Electric Island by collaborators Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) and Portland General Electric (PGE), the local utility, won an honorable mention in the sustainability category of the magazine’s autumn 2021 “Innovation by Design” awards, which go annually to companies excelling at the intersection of design, business, and innovation.
The project is reflective of that by standing as the first publicly accessible fast-charging station catering to medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks, while doing double-duty as a test bed for understanding how high-capacity charging infrastructure might have to take shape if, as expected, more electric trucks hit the road.
Opened in April, the site, near DTNA headquarters, is equipped with nine next-generation chargers enabling the typical vehicle serviced to be fully charged about four times faster than current fast-charging technology delivers. But its electrical service infrastructure is capable of being ramped up as charging technology advances, allowing for 1MW-plus chargers that are on the near horizon and potentially up to 5MW that would allow off-the-charts fast charging needed in a future where EVs are ubiquitous. Those higher levels would be enabled by features like on-site energy storage, solar power generation, and advanced charge management software – all likely to be tested and incorporated at the site.
Black & Veatch, an Overland Park, Kan.-based engineering firm, designed and built the station in a way that would allow it, DTNA, and PGE to readily study and assess different components, configurations, designs, and technologies for vehicle charging. DTNA’s interest is tied to its focus on developing electric trucks, while PGE has a stake in understanding the demands that EV expansion will have on its resources. Black & Veatch, as a leader in charging station infrastructure development and installation, is eager to learn how to refine that task as EV technology and demand evolves.
“One of the key design goals was to make the site flexible and able to accommodate new charging technologies, medium-voltage utility service, integration energy storage, and on-site solar,” says Richard Horne, associate vice president and director of project execution at Black & Veatch. “Given that these still are early days for this EV industry, lessons learned – everything from selecting the equipment, engineering modular solutions to working with cities on permitting, and understanding utility upgrades – are all relevant experience for working on other sites and with fleet customers.”
With a decade of experience working on high-power EV charging infrastructure, Black & Veatch is seeing the Electric Island project reflecting trends it has already spotted.
“We are seeing increasing uptake in consumer markets as numerous models come to market and significant growth in public and commercial fleets,” says Paul Stith, associate vice president of global transportation initiatives. “Increasingly, we are seeing charging paired up with energy storage and solar, with lots of interest in making the sites resilient.”
PGE views the project as integral to its strategy to get out in front of the move to electric vehicles, a development that could hinge on progress made in electrifying the trucking fleet. A report done for a group of West Coast utilities it belongs to predicted that medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks could make up 8% of all trucks on the road in California, Oregon, and Washington by 2030. To support that, PGE and others envision the need for a dense EV charging infrastructure in place along the Interstate 5 corridor.
“The future of Oregon’s transportation is electric, and utilities have an essential role to play in building the infrastructure needed to support a cleaner energy future,” Aaron Milano, product portfolio manager for transportation electrification at PGE, said in a 2020 company news release. “Laying the groundwork for an electric I-5 will help the West Coast meet its climate goals, provide cleaner air for our communities, and provide new economic opportunities as we make the transition to electric vehicles and trucks.”
Tom Zind is a freelance writer based in Lees Summit, Mo. He can be reached at [email protected].
