On April 21st, 2021, in partnership with Portland General Electric (PGE), Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) opened Electric Island on Swan Island in Portland, OR. The first-of-its-kind heavy-duty electric truck charging station will power a new test fleet of electric heavy duty trucks. John O'Leary, the president and CEO of DTNA, said "We would guess that by 2039 we're not making diesel trucks any more and it could actually happen faster than that. The change is afoot and it seems to be accelerating even faster than we thought it would."
The Intertek PSI Portland office, also located on Swan Island, was involved in the project, performing special inspections during the installation of the truck charging station. A staff engineer from the Portland office attended the plug-in event, where the first electric trucks were brought to life at the truck charging station. Intertek PSI Portland is excited to be a part of a project leading to a greener and more sustainable tomorrow.
In fact, the company says within the next two decades those diesel powered semi-trucks you see rumbling down the highways will be no more.