Battle Motors, PositivEnergy partner for EV truck charging infrastructure

Battle Motors expects to bring the Battle One Class 8 severe duty full-electric truck to the market this summer with municipal customers.

Battle Motors, an electric vehicle (EV) start-up that recently acquired Crane Carrier trucks, has partnered with PositivEnergy to install charging stations at municipal accounts across North America.

Founded earlier this year by Mike Patterson of Romeo Power, Battle Motors acquired commercial vehicle original equipment manufacturer (OEM), Crane Carrier Company LLC (CCC) in April. CCC manufactured commercial vehicles for 75 years and is based in New Philadelphia, Ohio.

PositivEnergy is expected to deliver charging stations to municipal accounts serviced by 180 Battle Motors truck dealers across North America. The charging stations will provide vehicle-to-grid (V2G), sequential capable power supplies and dispensers for the battery technology in Battle Motors vehicles.

Battle Motors said it has committed to making EV infrastructure installation as turn-key as possible for customers. PositivEnergy charging infrastructure will be made available to all Crane Carrier customers where battery electric vehicle (BEV) trucks are sold.

“The partnership with PostivEnergy allows Battle Motors to provide our customers a one-stop solution for complete fast efficient infrastructure installation,” said Mike Patterson, CEO, Battle Motors, Los Angeles, Calif. “The infrastructure is kicked off at vehicle purchase and installed while the body is being put on the truck.”

Founded in 2019, PositivEnergy is focused on architecting EV-charging infrastructure and custom energy storage systems at commercial and utility-scale. PositivEnergy will be providing EV charging infrastructure to Battle Motors customers, including vehicle-to-grid (V2G), sequential charge capable dispensers and power supplies as well as Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) when optimal.

CCC legacy

Battle Motors said it is committed to accelerating transition to sustainable energy through manufacturing durable Class 7 and 8 electric trucks. The 75-year CCC legacy carries on as the rebranded Battle Motors, about which the founders said is positioned to lead the way in the electrification of the vocational and delivery truck markets.

CCC has 180 sales and service dealers throughout North America and has long been a supplier to the vocational truck industry. That will continue under the Battle Motors Co. and Crane Carrier Company Engineered Chassis brands. The combined organization will have approximately 200 employees.

“We are combining the best of last century’s severe duty diesel and compressed natural gas (CNG) technology with best-in-class EV technology to produce full electric trucks for the marketplace,” said Patterson, CEO of Battle Motors and Crane Carrier. “There has been minimal movement and very little fundamental innovation in this space, the merging together of a traditional mainstay of the industry with an innovative and highly advanced technology company will generate a radical shift in this important sector of the transportation industry.”

Battle Motors said it expects to bring the battle-ready Class 8 severe duty full electric truck to the market this summer with 12 municipal customers. The initial trucks will be designed for front, rear and automated side loader applications within the refuse and recycling space, available in standard and crew cab configurations.

Battle Motors plans to nearly triple the size of the production facility in New Philadelphia from 125,000 sq.ft. to 350,000 sq.ft. to increase production.