Range Energy and Thermo King to Advance Commercial Adoption of Electric Refrigerated Trailers
The companies will jointly evaluate the integration of Range’s electric-powered trailer platform with Thermo King’s trailer refrigeration units
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. & MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Range Energy (Range), the hardware company bringing powered trailers to the commercial trucking market, and Thermo King, a leader in sustainable transport temperature control solutions and a Trane Technologies (NYSE: TT) brand, today announced a strategic collaboration to advance the commercialization of electric refrigerated trailers.
With a shared pursuit to make commercial trucking cleaner, safer, and more efficient, this collaboration enables the companies to align on a preferred electric trailer technology architecture, including integrating Range’s electric trailer platform with Thermo King’s hybrid trailer refrigeration units (TRUs) and electric TRUs. The integration process will also include extensive testing, customer pilots, and the public demonstration of an electric TRU.
“Accelerating the commercial adoption of electric trailers is essential to helping fleet owners and operators meet emerging emissions reduction goals and mandates. Working with Thermo King to advance electric refrigerated trailers marks significant progress in the electrification of commercial trucking, providing a near-term and pragmatic solution for fleets of today and tomorrow,” said Ali Javidan, CEO and founder, Range.
Through this collaboration, Range and Thermo King will focus on driving innovation across key areas:
- Architectural definition and interoperability: Aligning on the technical architecture for electric refrigerated trailers, information exchange, model energy usage, charging options, and evaluating single- and multi-temperature Thermo King TRUs.
- Operations testing: Identifying pilot customers to utilize electric TRU trailers in live operations, as well as developing and executing on an Operations Test Plan in Q3 2024.
- Manufacturing and commercialization: Evaluating assembly requirements, manufacturing capabilities, supplier introductions, and sales and servicing support; engaging third-party standards-making organizations; and collaborating on regulatory outcomes (e.g., weight allowances, emissions standards, charging support, etc.) and government incentives to streamline commercial adoption of electric TRUs.
“Thermo King’s commitment to sustainability and decarbonization is only matched by our drive to provide customers with the solutions they need. With that comes integrating innovative technologies, like Range’s electric trailer platform, that can help us deliver more efficient and reliable transportation solutions while keeping transported food and perishables safe and fresh,” said Paul Kroes, senior trailer product manager, Thermo King. “Range is an early mover in trailer electrification, and we’re confident our partnership can accelerate our industry’s decarbonization efforts.”
About Range Energy
Range Energy (Range) accelerates the electrification of commercial transportation via powered trailers for the heavy duty truck market. With a solution that can easily hook up to any tow vehicle, Range’s powered trailers offer offroad mobile power, and can rapidly ease the transition to electrification and meet its commercial partners’ immediate needs and long-term ambitions. Range was founded in 2021 and is led by a team with deep EV industry expertise from Tesla, Zoox, Honda, and more. The company is backed by leading investors including Trousdale Ventures, UP Partners, R7, Yamaha Motor Ventures, and more. For more information, visit: https://range.energy/.
About Thermo King
Thermo King – by Trane Technologies (NYSE: TT), a global climate innovator – is a worldwide leader in sustainable transport climate control solutions. Thermo King has been providing transport temperature control solutions for a variety of applications, including trailers, truck bodies, buses, air, shipboard containers and railway cars since 1938. For more information, visit www.thermoking.com or www.europe.thermoking.com.
Contacts
Range Energy Media Contact:
Kate Gundry
range@pluckpr.com
617-797-5174
Thermo King Media Contact:
Jeremy Ertl
jertl@broadheadco.com
612-623-8000
