United Rentals supplies electric pickups to oil company

United Rentals has provided all-electric trucks to Shell for use at its Geismar Chemical Manufacturing site in Louisiana, USA.

One of the Ford F-150 Lighting pickups delivered to Shell. (Photo: United Rentals)

The company delivered an undisclosed number of Ford F-150 Lightning pickup trucks, which are fitted with a 9.6kW Pro Power onboard generator system.

With a range of up to 320 miles and a towing capacity of 10,000 lbs (4,500kg), the zero-emissions vehicles will be part of Shell’s mobility pilot programme, which aims to test and evaluate the use of an on-site electric vehicle (EV) fleet.

The Ford pickup trucks will be used to support the plant’s maintenance operations, and will help the petrochemical giant to develop low-carbon, green strategies for its both own vehicles and its rental units.

Dai Nguyen, Shell Geismar General Manager, said, “Shell Geismar partnered with United Rentals on this electric vehicle mobility pilot program, which marks a step on the journey to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the Shell Geismar Chemical Manufacturing site.

“The goal is to apply what we learn at Geismar but also to other Shell businesses that rely on large fleets.”

According to United, its partnership with Shell will help it “identify other industrial plant projects where emissions-saving solutions can be deployed to work towards net-zero worksites”.

The pilot program also aims to assess the plant’s previously installed EV charging station, including the location of its infrastructure location, as well as the re-charging time periods, range, maintenance requirements and the benefit-to-cost ratio it offers.

As concern for the environment prompts more and more companies to shift away from using vehicles with traditional internal combustion engines, the past year has seen the demand for low emission vehicles increase dramatically. 

Shell’s Ford F-150 Lighting pickups are will be used for plant maintenance operations. (Photo: United Rentals)

With United itself also aiming to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions intensity of its business by 35% by 2030, in May of this year the company added 500 of Ford’s F-150 Lightning all-electric trucks and Ford E-Transit all-electric vans to its rental fleet.

Over the past several months United has supplied several notable packages of electric trucks and zero emission power solutions to its customers, including US-based Formosa Plastics Corporation and to contractor Turner Construction, for use on a massive data center in Kansas City, Missouri, being built for Meta, the owner of Facebook.

Joli Gross, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, United Rentals, said, “United Rentals is dedicated to building a better future, which is a cornerstone in our partnership to reduce the environmental impact of fleet operations.

“We look forward to continuing to Work United with customers on innovative, and on sustainable solutions that help them advance safety and reduce their carbon footprint.”