Thermo King® by Trane Technologies Accelerates Cold Chain Decarbonization Following Electric Trailer Trials with Walmart

Through 2,500 hours of trial runs, the electric trailer kept food and other critical cargo fresh for the major retailers and logistics providers, bringing them closer to electrified fleets

Thermo King®, a leader in transport temperature control solutions and a brand of Trane Technologies has completed initial testing of its innovative evolve™ electric trailer with retailers Walmart and Loblaws, and Martin Brower, a leading supply chain solutions provider for restaurants around the world. During more than 2,500 hours of operation, the battery-powered refrigerated trailer unit delivered excellent performance, ensuring high quality climate control to keep food and other goods fresh. With zero direct emissions, Thermo King’s electric trailer technology can help to significantly decarbonize the cold chain.

“By partnering with our customers, we can help accelerate the industry’s transformation to electrification by applying valuable insights from data collected during these trials,” said Karin De Bondt, president of Thermo King Americas. “With more than 2,500 hours of operation, the learnings bring us closer to a commercialized all-electric trailer unit, help our customers prepare their operations, and ultimately, together we can advance the industry forward.”

“With thousands of refrigerated trailers using diesel fuel today, we have the ability to make a meaningful difference when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Fernando Cortes, senior vice president of transportation, Walmart U.S. “We were pleased to work with Thermo King on the testing of our first-ever refrigerated trailer operated primarily on battery electricity in the U.S. as we look for solutions to achieve zero emissions by 2040.”

“Our goal is to deliver innovative and meaningful solutions that help restaurants and our business create a more globally sustainable, ethical, and responsible future,”, said Danny Fahey, Martin Brower’s vice president of US strategy and sustainability. “Piloting the Thermo King® electric trailer allows us to support new technologies, which is an essential step toward achieving our ambitious, long-term goal — significantly reducing our carbon emissions per ton and limiting our environmental impact.”

Leveraging Thermo King TracKing® telematics, customer operations data and learnings have been documented with each evolve™ trailer demonstration, directly contributing to future product optimization and innovation. In addition to its current portfolio of products, Thermo King has committed to delivering all-electric, zero-emission solutions for every segment of the end-to-end cold chain by 2023 in Europe and 2025 in the Americas. Through its evolve™ all-electric portfolio, the business will help advance Trane Technologies’ 2030 Sustainability Commitments, including its Gigaton Challenge to reduce customer greenhouse gas emissions by 1 billion metric tons.

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