PGT Trucking, Inc., a flatbed transportation company, said it launched a sustainable shipping solutions program last week in partnership with Nikola and Nucor.
The company said it had delivered its inaugural shipment of low-greenhouse-gas steel via Nikoa’s Class 8 battery electric vehicle from Nucor in Brandenburg, Ky., to a nearby fabricator. The first shipment of its kind of low GHG intensity steel by a Class 8 zero-emissions truck, the partnership said the initiative is part of the clean energy economy, using sustainable equipment and commodities to transform the steel and transportation industries.
“PGT Trucking is proud to partner with companies like Nikola and Nucor, who share a common vision and commitment to a greener future,” said Gregg Troian, PGT Trucking President. “We are confident that these relationships will help guide PGT’s Future of Flatbed® initiatives, allowing us to reach our goal of a 35 percent reduction in emissions of our company-owned equipment by the year 2025.”
The companies said using Nucor’s charging stations at multiple mills will enable the use of the electric vehicles and reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent while creating a 20 percent saving in energy cost per trip.
“For more than five decades, Nucor has been built on the sustainable model of producing steel with a low carbon footprint,” Nucor EVP of Plate & Structural Products Al Behr said. “Even though we are one of the cleanest steelmakers in the world, we know we need to continue to lower our greenhouse gas intensity. This partnership with PGT and Nikola is just one example of the innovative ways Nucor is working to reduce its carbon emissions.”
A study by the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) found the industry could save approximately 29.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually if just 50 percent of the heavy-duty regional haul tractors were replaced with battery-electric trucks.
“Nikola is proud to partner with PGT Trucking to play a role in Nucor’s inaugural shipment of low GHG intensity steel with our Class 8 Tre battery-electric truck,” Nikola Global Head, FCEV Market Development Jason Roych said. “This level of teamwork between product manufacturer, transportation provider, and vehicle manufacturer is exactly what it will take to evolve the industry to zero-emission trucking. We look forward to continuing this journey with PGT Trucking and Nucor.”