Anheuser-Busch, BYD, the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE), and ENGIE Services US announced that Anheuser-Busch will be deploying 21 BYD battery electric trucks in their California fleet as part of a state project to showcase economically and environmentally sustainable warehousing and distribution technology. This is a landmark achievement as the largest Class 8 electric truck deployment in North America.

The Zero Emission Beverage Handling and Distribution at Scale project will showcase BYD’s second-generation 8TT Class 8 electric trucks at four Anheuser-Busch distribution facilities across southern California: Sylmar, Riverside, Pomona, and Carson.

The 8TT tractors are powered by a 409 kWh pack, supporting maximum power of 360 kW (483 hp) and 1,770 lb-ft (2,400 N·m) of torque.

As part of the project, a southern California-based team from ENGIE will lead the design and installation of charging infrastructure at all four facilities. ENGIE will also be installing and commissioning a 958.5 kW solar array at the Carson site, which will generate zero-emissions power to offset the use of conventional energy in the charging process, further reducing emissions and resource consumption.

To facilitate the project, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) awarded funds to the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE), a leading nonprofit in the zero-emission vehicle industry, which will be responsible for project oversight, development, management, and reporting during this deployment. CTE will also provide technical support, risk analysis and mitigation strategies, permitting, equipment and station deployment, training, and assistance with commissioning.

The project is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment—particularly in disadvantaged communities. The project is expected to result in emissions reductions of 910 metric tons of CO₂ per year, the equivalent of taking almost 200 passenger vehicles off of the road. CARB anticipates the project will be replicated statewide.

As part of the initial validation, Anheuser-Busch put the BYD 8TT through extensive testing on range, acceleration, gradeability, charging speed, and more. The truck exceeded the requirements of Anheuser-Busch and received enthusiastic feedback from drivers, clearing the path to this large-scale deployment.

The project includes equipment testing, a one-year demonstration period, data collection, and associated reporting. CTE anticipates the trucks to begin operation near the end of 2019 with full project completion in early 2021.