Penske Truck Leasing has worked with Stem, Inc., a provider of artificial intelligence-driven energy storage services, to pilot its Athena smart energy storage software and operate an advanced battery storage system. The pilot project included a 350 kilowatt (kW)/800 kilowatt hour (kWh) battery system powered by Stem’s Athena at Penske’s heavy-duty truck charging positions in Ontario, California. 

“We collaborated with Stem and other suppliers in designing and implementing the electric vehicle charging infrastructure,” said Sean Yentsch, vice president facilities at Penske. “We then used Stem’s Athena smart energy software to optimize the electricity requirements associated with charging commercial electric trucks. We’ve been pleased with the initial results, and we continue to evaluate expanding the use of this AI-driven energy storage system as new charging positions equipped with supplemental battery storage are established.” 

Stem’s Athena predicts when the charging site’s electricity demand will spike and uses the supplemental stored energy via on-site batteries at the optimal time to drive off-peak electricity savings and minimize utility peak demand charges. Since starting the pilot, smart energy storage has driven a 40% decrease in Penske’s site peak energy consumption, the fleet reports.

Stem collaborated with Penske and its other suppliers in project execution, including optimizing energy tariffs, utilizing energy storage to secure funds from California Air Quality Resources (CARB) as well as securing incentives from California’s Self Generation Incentive Program (SGIP).