(image credit: Einride/GE APpliances)
Source: www.twice.com, November 2022


First fully electric autonomous heavy-duty vehicle without driver on board to run an operational commercial pilot on U.S. public road

Freight mobility technology company Einride, in partnership with GE Appliances, a Haier company, successfully completed a public road pilot of Einride’s autonomous, electric vehicle, in Selmer, Tennessee. The pilot took place over the duration of two weeks as the vehicle supported real-time workflows and transported finished goods from GE Appliances’ facilities.

“The completion of this pilot is a momentous step in the operations of autonomous heavy-duty road freight in the U.S.,” said Robert Falck, CEO and Founder at Einride. “This shows how Einride’s new type of vehicle, one that has reshaped the future of shipping, is here today and unlocking real industry change.”

GE Appliances’ Selmer, TN facility was chosen as the pilot launch site due to the nature of the environment for safe testing of operations while meeting the real demand for the movement of goods. Working in close partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), state and county officials, and GE Appliances staff, the Einride autonomous vehicle conducted the safe movement of goods between GE Appliances’ manufacturing facility and warehouse. Einride also partnered with Ericsson, who provided a private connectivity network for seamless vehicle functionality and to enable a Remote Operator to remotely monitor the vehicle.

(image credit: Einride/GE APpliances)

“In order to lead, you have to think ahead and think differently,” said Harry Chase, Senior Director of Central Materials for GE Appliances. “Working with Einride on this pilot on public roads in Tennessee helped us better envision and understand what we need to do differently to be at the forefront of autonomous and EV implementation. At GE Appliances, we believe you need to continuously experiment with new technology in order to learn.”

Einride operates one of the largest fleets of electric vehicles in Europe and the U.S., with the partnership with GE Appliances deploying both autonomous and electric vehicles starting in October 2021. Since then, GE Appliances has doubled its connected electric fleet of Einride Trucks and is leveraging Einride’s intelligent freight mobility platform, Einride Saga, to reduce emissions throughout its supply chains.

For more information, please visit einride.tech.