ELIZABETH, N.J. — APM Terminals Elizabeth is orderings 96 Orange EV electric terminal trucks, marking one of the largest port electrification commitments in history.
“This order along with the Pier 400 order earlier this year, is evidence of an inflection point in ports as operators move past the pilot and testing phase to standardize around Orange EV’s turnkey solution,” said Kurt Neutgens, CEO of Orange EV. “Many Port Operators are accelerating because the Orange EV real-world data shows the business case for electrification and the environmental case align.”
Fleets Turning to EV Trucks
“The order follows a signing ceremony held at APM Terminals Port Elizabeth operation and comes on the heels of Orange EV’s expansion at APM Terminals Los Angeles (Pier 400) earlier this summer, where a year-long 20-truck rental pilot led to a 40-truck expansion, bringing that fleet to 60 trucks,” Orange EV said. “Together, the two deals point to a pattern playing out across the port sector: operators who spent the last several years piloting electric terminal trucks are now standardizing fleet wide.”
The HUSK-e XP units are fully compliant with the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) requirements. Each truck is purpose-built for heavy port and terminal operations, capable of moving up to 180,000 lbs. of combined weight. The vehicles employ a 310-kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, the largest available battery pack in the Orange EV lineup. The order reflects APM Terminals’ procurement approach of evaluating total value over the life of the asset, performance metrics including uptime, proven EV experience with over 2,000 EV trucks in the market, spare parts availability and service response standards, rather than upfront unit cost alone.
Across its installed base, Orange EV’s fleet averages more than 97% uptime, and the company has surpassed more than 14 million hours of operation and 33 million miles of real-world operation.
“The Port Elizabeth deal comes on the heels of last week’s announcement of a 24-truck deal with Greenwich Terminals, operator of the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia,” Orange EV said. “That order, part of Greenwich Terminals’ broader modernization with the goal of an all-electric yard operation, will see the terminal permanently retire 10 older diesel-powered trucks as it moves toward a fully electric fleet. Together, the two deals reflect the same shift taking hold at ports on both coasts: electrification of yard trucks is no longer just being tested, it’s being scaled.”
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
