Overview
On May 20th, 2025 the AEG San Antonio Truck Electrification Dinner convened 20 cross-sector leaders to address key challenges and opportunities for medium- and heavy-duty (MD/HD) truck electrification across the Texas Triangle—San Antonio/Austin, Houston, and Dallas–Fort Worth. Participants challenged one another to align on an approach to stakeholder engagement, starting with San Antonio, to expedite progress based on key stakeholder needs and priorities, including economic benefits, community health, and system reliability/resilience.
5 key themes
1. Enabling Financial Certainty through TCO Validation
A clear understanding of cost advantages and risks is essential to accelerate adoption. Establishing shared frameworks for Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis and performance metrics will help fleet operators make informed investment decisions.
"Validate TCO assumptions, BEV performance, and operational feasibility through pilots and government/utility-supported demonstration projects." — Jason Kazmar, International
2. Developing Corridor-Scale Infrastructure
MD/HD electrification cannot succeed without robust, strategically located charging along long-haul routes. Coordinated public-private infrastructure planning is required to ensure grid readiness and charging coverage for regional and cross-state hauls.
"Current infrastructure is insufficient—especially for long-haul routes. Corridor planning and depot investment must be prioritized." — Andrew Higgins, KPMG
3. Accelerating Utility Readiness and Grid Planning
Utility upgrade timelines—ranging from 2 to 13 years—present a major risk. Accelerating permitting, substation upgrades, and flexible interconnection strategies is critical to meet growing demand from truck depots.
“The electrification of heavy-duty fleets will stall unless utilities are empowered—and held accountable—to deliver grid upgrades on timelines that match market needs. This is where regulatory leadership must step in.” — Brien Sheahan, International
4. Supporting Local Coalitions and Pilot Consortia
Participants agreed that regional pilot projects—led by trusted local coalitions—are the most strategic near-term win, starting with San Antonio. These should include fleets, utilities (e.g., CPS Energy), regulators (e.g., TXDOT, Texas PUC), fleet operators (H-E-B) and OEMs to drive real-world testing and deployment.
"Create a San Antonio coalition—including CPS, TX EV Coalition, and a fleet operator—to sign off on a Memorandum of Understanding/Agreement to launch a pilot project to reduce risk and validate envisioned benefits." — Participant Feedback/Poll Response
5. Elevating Public Health and Community Co-Benefits
Truck electrification in San Antonio can be a win for operational efficiency, public health commitments and job creation in a manner that drives local value creation. Reduced harmful emissions, quieter streets, and job creation were cited by participants as community-aligned motivators.
Cleaner air, quieter streets, and future-forward jobs make truck electrification a shared win for community and industry. — Participant Feedback/Wordcloud Summary
GROUP CONSENSUS
Brien Sheahan and Jason Kazmar of International co-presented on the foundational steps needed to scale medium- and heavy-duty truck electrification across Texas. Their presentation emphasized validating total cost of ownership (TCO), building operational certainty through regional pilot programs, and accelerating utility and regulatory readiness to support corridor-scale charging infrastructure. Andrew Higgins of KPMG focused on the three core barriers to MD/HD truck electrification: affordability, infrastructure gaps, and operational challenges. Andrew Higgins emphasized the urgent need for strategic corridor planning, depot charging investment, and flexible financial models like Truck-as-a-Service to enable widespread adoption across Texas. With these insights, SME participants discussed and aligned on the following statement:
Regarding Texas Truck Electrification, to achieve the region’s resilience, economic, and health goals, a critical issue to collectively address in the next 12 months is the lack of operational and financial certainty necessary to progress fleet investment and corridor-based charging infrastructure.
Working as cross-sector sub groups, participants proposed the following potential strategic, tangible wins achievable by December 31, 2025:
A consortium to validate current EV funding and incentive programs that support growth.
A San Antonio coalition that includes CPS, International, TX EV coalition, and a local fleet operator willing to sign a MOU to develop a worthwhile pilot project.
A framework designed by key decision makers for integrated cost/benefit analysis on locational fleet electrification
A fleet inventory focused on the San Antonio to identify, categorize (e.g., use case), and prioritize fleets to target for an electrification pilot project in 2026.
CONCLUSION
The AEG Texas Truck Electrification Dinner brought together fleet operators, OEMs, utility leaders, public officials, and clean transportation experts to prioritize barriers to MD/HD truck electrification across the Texas Triangle, starting with San Antonio. The session emphasized the importance of building operational and financial certainty through TCO validation, local pilot design, and coordinated infrastructure development. Key themes included the need for proactive utility engagement, corridor-scale planning, local coalition building, and community-first framing. As stakeholders prepare for the October 23rd session, volunteer leaders will launch a 90-day sprint focused on defining coalition structure, ideal member participation, and drafting a MOU regarding the value of collaboration to establish a useful pilot.
