Volta Trucks (a leading full-electric commercial vehicle manufacturer and services provider with offices in London and Sweden) and Siemens Smart Infrastructure have signed a letter of intent outlining a cooperation ‘to deliver comprehensive eMobility charging infrastructure and software to Volta Trucks’ customers, to simplify, de-risk, and accelerate their transition to commercial fleet electrification’.

The partnership looks to bring together Volta Trucks’ solution to commercial vehicle fleet electrification and operational expertise through its ‘Truck as a Service’ offer and Siemens’ global experience in electric vehicle (EV) support solutions.

This includes software control systems, facility electrification, charging infrastructure, energy management, building equipment and project finance. The partnership will seek to support Volta Trucks’ customers by providing ‘infrastructure for full electrification aligned with their operational needs’.

The technical infrastructure of the charging installations for Volta Trucks’ Truck as a Service customers would be overseen by Siemens and include the hardware and software required to operate the charging and power distribution infrastructure for fleets of Volta Zeros.

Volta Trucks’ customers could also achieve higher uptime with minimum expenditure, through Siemens’ performance management platform; this is powered by ‘advanced analytical and simulation models’ and considers factors such as fleet duty cycles, charging times, battery life, optimal utilisation and costs, and asset management.

Meanwhile, Volta Trucks has confirmed the details of its first ‘Volta Trucks Hub’ in the UK, serving the battery electric Volta Zero vehicles that will operate on the streets of London from early 2023. The Hub is on White Hart Lane in Tottenham, north London, near many of Volta Trucks initial UK-based customers, and within easy reach of all of east and west London’s logistics centres. The facility covers 30,000ft² and has eight workshop bays; it will also accommodate a showroom, administration offices and a Volta Trucks Academy training centre.

The Volta Zero is the world’s first purpose-built full-electric 16-tonne commercial vehicle designed for urban distribution. The truck, which has been designed from the ground-up as a full EV, also features a safety-first approach to cabin design, one that provides ‘unrivalled visibility’ for its driver.