The US DOE has awarded nearly half a billion bucks to three companies under the Domestic Manufacturing Conversion grant program to help accelerate the production of heavy-duty electric trucks and related powertrain components.

Volvo Technology of America will receive $208 to upgrade facilities at the Volvo Group’s Lehigh Valley Operations truck assembly site in Macungie, Pennsylvania, where it produces Mack trucks, and its New River Valley truck manufacturing plant in Dublin, Virginia.

“The upgrades enable a novel manufacturing approach that will significantly increase the production capacity potential of battery-electric vehicles [and] fuel cell electric vehicles,” said the company.

“Through facility upgrades and employee training, this grant will help our US plants more efficiently produce the innovative trucks and zero-emission powertrain components essential to this transition,” said Stephen Roy, Chairman of Volvo Group North America and President of Mack Trucks.

The projects are expected to create 295 new union jobs for Volvo and Mack.

The latest round of funding also included almost $158 million for ZF Axle Drives to convert part of its Marysville, Michigan, facility from ICE component production to EV component production.

Cummins will receive $75 million in matching funds to convert 360,000 square feet of an engine plant in Columbus, Indiana, to manufacture electric powertrain systems.

Source: Trucking Dive