United Parcel Service, which has one of its largest hubs in Dallas-Fort Worth, has announced two major deals that will increase the package delivery company’s presence in alternative fuels and electric vehicles.
First, UPS said Tuesday that it will spend $130 million to buy 730 compressed natural gas vehicles as well as build five more domestic CNG fueling stations, including one each in Fort Worth and Arlington.
“We strongly believe further investment in our natural gas fleet is a key element to help us achieve our long-term goals for reducing our CO2 emissions,” Carlton Rose, president of global fleet maintenance and engineering for UPS, told Reuters.
“We strongly believe further investment in our natural gas fleet is a key element to help us achieve our long-term goals for reducing our CO2 emissions.”
Carlton Rose
Last year, UPS announced plans to lease a 1 million-square-foot warehouse in Arlington to use as a distribution hub.
Last week, the company said that its cooperation with Workhorse to develop new electric delivery vehicles is accelerating, with the initial plans for 50 vehicles now including the purchase of an additional 950 electric vehicles.
The first vehicles will be tested in Dallas, Atlanta, and Los Angeles this year, according to a report on electrive.com.
The vehicles are part of the company’s plans to have a quarter of its new fleet running on alternative fuels by 2020, according to Reuters.
UPS SAYS ELECTRIC VEHICLES WILL HELP SAVE MONEY
The electric delivery vehicles feature 60 kW batteries and have a range of roughly 100 miles, electrive.com said.
While fully electric delivery vehicles cost about the same as a conventional truck, UPS is estimating it will save $170,000 per vehicle over 20 years because of reduced operational costs.
Reuters reported that the vehicles will become part of the company’s “rolling laboratory” of about 9,100 low-emission vehicles, a fleet that includes all-electric, hybrid electric, ethanol, and CNG vehicles.
Get on the list.
Dallas Innovates, every day.
Sign up to keep your eye on what’s new and next in Dallas-Fort Worth, every day.
R E A D N E X T
-
Six months after a $45 million Series B raise, Alto will be a coast-to-coast company by end of this month. It now aims to transform its fleet of owned rideshare vehicles to 100% electric by the end of 2023, with a network of EV Ops Centers keeping them charged, maintained, and ready. The first center is being built now near its Dallas HQ.
-
The DFW Alliance of Technology and Women held its 19th annual Executive Forum last week, urging attendees to "crack the courage code" and empower women in business. Afterward, DFW*ATW's president, Shanthi Rajaram, spoke with Dallas Innovates about her takeaways from the event—and how being "comfortable with the unknown" helped her start her own entrepreneurship journey.
-
"Reinventing how video games are played," Electric Gamebox locations offer hyper-immersive games in digital smart rooms—using projection mapping, touch screens, 3D motion tracking, and surround sound without headsets. The company's goal: 1,000+ locations in the U.S. and U.K. by 2026. The company's first U.S. location opened in December in Grandscape in The Colony, just north of Dallas.
-
The 20-year Energy Savings Performance Contract will focus on a modernization project for cooling demand at the university’s health research labs.
-
Fresh from the London Bridge and Canary Wharf in London, the chain of bar-eateries "reimagines" shuffleboard with "unparalleled vision technology" for an immersive, highly social experience. Get your wrists ready for craft cocktails, pizza, munchables, and—most importantly—shufflin' your puck down the board.
