Three Key Facts:
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- Funding: $208 million from Joe Biden’s clean energy plan, matched by Volvo Mack Trucks.
- Jobs: Nearly 300 new union jobs at Mack Trucks.
- Environmental Impact: Mack aims for 35% of its vehicle production to be electric by 2030 and a 100% fossil-free fleet by 2050.
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Pennsylvania is at the forefront of the clean energy revolution, thanks to a $208 million investment from Joe Biden’s clean energy plan. This funding, matched by Volvo Mack Trucks, is leading the company to transition its Lehigh Valley facilities to produce electric vehicles (EVs), creating nearly 300 new union jobs.
With this match, Mack Trucks, which has been a Pennsylvania staple since 1905, will remain competitive by modernizing its operations and adapting to a growing EV market and secure the company’s stature as a leader in sustainable heavy-duty vehicles.
“Pennsylvania manufacturing has always formed the backbone of our Nation. This funding will boost Volvo Mack Trucks’ Lehigh Valley production, create good-paying, union jobs, and pave the way for our clean energy future,” said Senator Bob Casey.
A Long-Term Vision
This initiative is part of Mack’s long-term clean energy transition and will accelerate progress already underway. The company is working to grow its EV production with clear goals to ensure that 35% of its vehicle production will be electric by the end of this decade. Longer term goals are even more ambitious: Mack expects all of its new trucks run on clean, fossil fuel-free energy by 2050.
Company leaders have indicated that its Pennsylvania plant will be central to that shift in production.
Revamping for EV Manufacturing
Mack is using this injection of funding to retool its assembly lines, enhance new and incumbent worker training programs, and adapt supply chain partnerships to meet EV production needs. Retrofitting Mack’s plant in the Lehigh Valley will create hundreds of construction jobs alongside the permanent green jobs the factory will support long-term.
Economic and Environmental Impact
There are meaningful economic advantages to accelerating the production of electric trucks. One study shows that companies can achieve $677,815 in fuel and maintenance savings over ten years for every 10 fossil-fuel trucks it replaces with EVs.
Joe Biden’s Clean Energy Plan
Since it passed in 2022,Joe Biden’s clean energy plan has leveraged $500 billion in private sector investments across the United States and helped create 330,000 clean energy jobs.
The plan is widely popular, with polls showing that 71% of voters support the green energy investments.
Tom Perez, Senior Advisor to President Joe Biden, remarked, “We can address our climate challenges and we can strengthen and grow middle-class jobs — middle-class union jobs. We are doing it here in the Lehigh Valley, and we’re doing it across America.”
