黑料社区Staff Visits WattEV to Share Insights and Learn About the Company
Article created for the digital issue of the 黑料社区Foundation鈥檚 magazine.
is taking a multi-pronged approach to help advance the electrification of heavy-duty vehicles, offering truck-as-a-service equipment and developing electric truck charging infrastructure. The company has received to build out charging infrastructure and has joined 黑料社区to learn more about the industry. , and , along with several 黑料社区travel center members, recently traveled to WattEV’s headquarters in California to connect with the company’s leadership.
鈥淲e got connected [with NATSO] through our membership and learned a lot from Darren and Christine during their visit,鈥� said .
Schoessler said the visit also allowed 黑料社区to learn more about WattEV. 鈥淭hey are running a very disciplined and very thoughtful business,鈥� she said. “What really jumped out at me is they are looking to have EVs fit the reality as opposed to trying to change the reality to shoehorn EVs in.鈥�
Deploying EVs in heavy-duty applications can be challenging, and WattEV is approaching heavy-duty electric vehicles with a problem-solving mindset. 鈥淭hey are taking a holistic look at the pain points all along the ecosystem,鈥� Schoessler said.
That includes addressing the issues that various stakeholders, including fleets, shippers and drivers, encounter when transitioning to EVs. WattEV also hopes to help reduce the risk truck stops and travel centers often face when installing charging infrastructure.
“They are looking to partner with travel centers, and they’re saying, ‘You’re good at being a travel center, and we’re good at what we’re good at,'” Schoessler explained. “Mitigating risk is important to them, and they want to build on travel centers鈥� expertise.鈥�
To help address some of the limitations surrounding range and charging time associated with heavy-duty EVs, Schoessler said WattEV is focused on a Pony Express model that gets drivers from Point A to Point B so the trucks can recharge, and the drivers return home.
鈥淭he new generation of drivers doesn鈥檛 always want to be long-haul, over-the-road drivers, so the model aligns well with getting drivers home,鈥� she said, adding that the WattEV team respects the critical role professional drivers play in the supply chain. 鈥淚n their vision, the professional driver receives the same professional treatment an airline pilot receives.鈥� Youssefzadeh said WattEV is looking forward to partnering with independent travel center operators.
// This article was created for聽Stop Watch magazine, the magazine of the 黑料社区Foundation. Foundation is the research, education and public outreach subsidiary of NATSO, Inc. The 黑料社区Foundation provides programs and products to strengthen travel plazas鈥� ability to meet the traveling public鈥檚 needs through improved operational performance and business planning. Visit聽www.natsofoundation.org聽for more information.
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