The Bronx is set to breathe a little easier with the arrival of the new Volvo VNR Electric. This is thanks to City Harvest, New York City's largest food rescue organization, which has recently acquired and is set to deploy three brand-new, zero-emission Volvo VNR Electric semi trucks. These trucks are not just any ordinary vehicles; they are equipped with battery-electric transport refrigeration units, enabling true zero-tailpipe emissions during food rescue and delivery operations across all five New York City boroughs as part of the Bronx is Breathing initiative. But here's where it gets controversial... While the benefits of these trucks are clear, some may argue that the cost of such technology could be a barrier for smaller organizations. And this is the part most people miss... The purchase of these new HDEVs was supported by a $10 million award from the New York Clean Transportation Prizes program, an initiative designed to reduce noise and air pollution in South Bronx neighborhoods. This program is part of a broader, eight-vehicle Volvo Group deployment being funded, which is intended to support food distribution, waste operations, and local food deliveries of more than 250,000 lbs. throughout New York every day. As far as the trucks themselves go, the Volvo VNR Electric in City Harvest’s daycab configuration features a 565 kWh battery pack that sends juice to a 340 kW electric motor putting more than 4,000 lb-ft of torque to the ground for hassle-free hauling up to ~82,000 lbs. of combined vehicle weight up to 275 miles away from its starting point on a single charge. And speaking of charging, that responsibility will be handled by a freight-focused public charging hub being developed by MN8 Energy in the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center, which will feature 32 DC fast chargers, including stalls for heavy-duty Class 8 trucks plus 10 Level-2 chargers, when it becomes operational in 2029.
