Infrastructure

Hundreds of new charging stations installed across U.S. for DHL’s growing electric fleet

Hundreds of new charging stations installed across U.S. for DHL’s growing electric fleet
EV fleet with L2 chargers at a DHL Express U.S. site in San Diego, CA (Photo credit: DHL Express)

As shipping provider DHL Express grows its electric fleet to meet its zero-emissions goal, 415 charging stations have been installed through a partnership with PowerFlex, a national provider of solar, storage, and EV charging solutions for commercial customers.

The chargers, installed at DHL service center facilities in major U.S. markets, are equipped with PowerFlex X, an energy management software that monitors, tracks, and reports on charging activities, integrating with DHL’s existing telematics platforms. Additionally, the chargers are equipped with PowerFlex’s Adaptive Load Management (ALM) energy management software that balances the power usage across the network of chargers to minimize expensive spikes in energy demand. With ALM, DHL was able to install twice the amount of chargers in comparison to unmanaged charging with the same power limit and onsite utility infrastructure.

GO DEEPER: PowerFlex CEO Raphael Declercq joined Episode 30 of the Factor This! podcast to share an inside look at the booming clean energy C&I segment and how the developer-turned-software provider is taking on smart electric vehicle charging. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

PowerFlex completed the first installation with DHL in 2020 and customized the Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) project and subsequent installations to optimize the charging experience around the daily delivery operations of DHL. The charging stations were installed overhead to keep them out of the vehicles’ path of travel, yet remain accessible for drivers to plug in at the end of the day. By reviewing the logistical needs of each fleet depot, PowerFlex recommended that DHL install Level 2 (L2) charging stations, which are typically more reliable, economically priced, and less power-intensive than Level 3 DC Fast Chargers. Another advantage of PowerFlex Level 2 chargers is the ability to increase the number of chargers onsite to enable future expansion or provide spare chargers as backup if necessary.

For these EVSE projects, PowerFlex provided DHL a full suite of services, including site feasibility assessments, turnkey design and installation, hardware and software solutions, and asset management and operations and maintenance services.

PowerFlex’s software was also recently chosen by Pacific Gas & Electric to manage nearly 4,000 electric vehicle charging stations in development.

Originally published by Power Grid International