Greenlane, a partnership between Daimler Truck North America, NextEra Energy Resources and BlackRock, aims to install a network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across the country. This week, the organization announced it is opening a 100-plus charging station corridor from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
Update, May 2025 - The Colton Greenlane Center (Colton, California) is now open. Additional details added below.
Such a network is a no-brainer for the many construction-related trucking and freight companies throughout the U.S. who are under increasing pressure to lower emissions. One strategy gaining traction in that effort is to increasingly use electric vehicles.
This latest venture includes more than 100 charging stations along a 280-mile stretch of highway. The initial charging stations will be located in California, in Colton, Barstow and Baker. Once complete, the Colton station will be equipped with dozens of 400kW Direct Current Fast Chargers, which are designed for heavy-duty tractors and more. The Colton station is expected to be completed in late 2024.
Greenlane
According to a press release:
As the demand for efficient, reliable electric vehicle charging and hydrogen refueling infrastructure grows along the nation’s freight corridors, Greenlane today announced its first commercial EV charging corridor with more than 100 chargers, modern amenities designed to increase the comfort of drivers, resilience for high uptime and ultimately moving freight more efficiently. Greenlane is a joint venture between Daimler Truck North America LLC, NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, and BlackRock (through a fund managed by its Climate Infrastructure business). The new charging corridor along Interstate 15 aims to accelerate the rollout of carbon-neutral freight transportation with initial charging locations in Colton, Barstow and Baker, California. Over the next year, further locations will be added along the corridor, extending beyond Southern Nevada and to San Pedro in California.
“After considering various factors, such as truck telematics data, frequent freight routes and customer deployment strategy, the Greenlane team selected these three optimal locations for our first commercial charging corridor to accelerate the transition to zero emissions,” said Patrick Macdonald-King, CEO of Greenlane. “The launch of this corridor not only marks a critical step in addressing the urgent need for publicly available, nationwide electric charging for commercial vehicles but will also serve as a model for the EV charging hubs of the future.”
At full build the Colton site is planned to have over 60 chargers, including 400 kW Direct Current Fast Chargers (DCFC) to speed charging of medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). More 200 kW DCFC charging options onsite will enable long-duration and overnight charging for heavy-duty tractors, medium-duty ZEVs and school buses. Greenlane will also deploy multiple passenger car charging stalls to support light-duty and passenger vehicles.
Later project phases will support both long-duration and overnight charging lanes for tractor-trailer combinations. The Greenlane site in Colton will also be future-proofed to accommodate the Megawatt Charging System (MCS) when commercially available.
"By using a predictive modeling tool to simulate truck traffic and energy flow at the site, we can determine how many chargers are necessary to meet the regional demand based on vehicle characteristics and departure and arrival times for vehicles hauling freight along this corridor," said Macdonald-King. "Our findings indicated that placing the three stations approximately 60 to 90 miles apart would maximize uptime for day-cab drivers by enabling shorter charging sessions at each stop and ultimately allowing customers to move freight confidently without any limitations."
Designed to upgrade and enhance the current rest stop experience, each Greenlane site will have wide pull-through lanes, allowing drivers to enter and exit the property quickly and easily. While waiting for vehicles to charge, drivers can access modern facilities, with restrooms and other amenities, including food and beverage options.
Greenlane aims to develop a nationwide network of commercial charging infrastructure locations across the U.S. The charging sites will also serve battery-electric passenger car and light-duty fleet customers and are designed to provide hydrogen refueling for commercial vehicles in the coming years.
Greenlane is targeting a spring groundbreaking on the Colton flagship site, aiming to open in late 2024. Located at the intersection of Interstates 10 and 215, the Colton hub will offer multiple ways for heavy, medium, and light-duty ZEV drivers to charge their vehicles.
In their May 2025 announcement:
Precon Products, a leader in precast concrete solutions, provided 50 EVEZ precast concrete charger bases for Greenlane’s inaugural charging location in Colton, CA, helping to advance zero-emission travel on I-15. Leveraging decades of experience in precast concrete solutions, Precon’s EVEZ demonstrates the efficiency, specialization, and durability this technology offers to the growing EV market.
Contracted by Mortenson Construction, Precon was tasked with producing a range of charger bases to accommodate medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles. All 50 EVEZ bases were installed at the Colton site in a matter of days, cutting down on the weeks-long curing time associated with traditional pour-on-site concrete. The site features 41 OEM-agnostic chargers with 12 pull-through lanes, including CCS 400-kW dual-port chargers, along with 29 bobtail lanes with CCS 180 kW chargers, offering comprehensive charging options for an increasingly electric freight route along I-15.
“Precon’s precast concrete solutions helped ensure the seamless installation of the EVEZ bases, supporting efficient completion of the project in only eight months,” said Tannaz Banisadre, COO of Greenlane. “The opening of our flagship Greenlane Center in Colton is just the beginning. We are committed to building a high-quality, zero-emission nationwide charging network, and we want partners like Precon that share our goal.”
The patented EVEZ technology, designed and manufactured by Precon Products, provides highly engineered and reliable solutions for EV charging stations. Offering a comprehensive range of universally compatible solutions for any EV charging project, EVEZ delivers cost-effective, customizable, and easy-to-install solutions to EV charging manufacturers, agencies, engineering firms, and private contractors supporting the advancement of the EV transition.
“Building a reliable, future-proofed EV charging network is a challenging journey that we’re fully committed to. This project provided us an opportunity to demonstrate the precision, quality, and versatility of our precast concrete solutions for EV infrastructure,” said Dan Zarraonandia, Vice President of Precon Products. “Seeing the Greenlane Colton site live, supported by our EVEZ bases, is a powerful milestone, and we’re excited to continue driving progress through more projects like this in the future.”
