White House

 

Biden Climate Cabinet Embarks On Post-SOTU 'Blitz' — “President Joe Biden and his top energy and environmental officials are fanning out across the country to tout their climate and infrastructure policies following Tuesday night’s State of the Union speech. The administration has scheduled a ‘blitz’ of top officials in the coming days to promote the work they’ve done so far and to highlight their plans for the future. Climate and energy policies have been key priorities for the Biden team, and they were key themes in the president’s speech before Congress. ‘The economic travel blitz will showcase how the president’s vision is creating jobs, rebuilding our infrastructure, lowering costs for families, tackling climate change, investing in our future and delivering for families too often left behind,’ a White House official said of the Cabinet’s plans. … EPA Administrator Michael Regan is at a Kansas high school Wednesday to discuss zero-emissions vehicles and electric school buses. He’s scheduled to visit a Kansas family farm Thursday to discuss the administration’s efforts ‘to tackle the climate crisis and support farmers, ranchers and rural communities to accelerate a more resilient food and agriculture system.’ … Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is scheduled to travel to Louisiana on Thursday to tout bridge and port investments funded by the infrastructure law.” [E&E News, 2/8/23 (=)]

 

 

Federal Agencies

 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

 

Regan Gets Utilities On Board Electric School Bus Push — “EPA Administrator Michael Regan was on the road Wednesday to tout the Biden administration’s infrastructure push, including industry backing for electric school buses. The agency announced a new pledge to promote collaboration between school districts and electricity providers to power clean buses across the country. Edison Electric Institute, which represents electric utilities, and the Beneficial Electrification League, a nonprofit group that works with rural power cooperatives, have signed on in support. ‘We know this kind of collaboration between school districts, the local electric utility providers and manufacturers are critical to the successful deployment of electric school buses,’ Regan said. ‘You all are demonstrating exemplary leadership through your collaboration at the forefront of what we hope to be a widespread national movement.’ On Wednesday, the EPA head stopped by Wabaunsee USD 329 School District in Alma, Kan., to mark the state’s first electric school buses. Regan’s visit came after President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech Tuesday night as top energy and environmental officials go on a travel blitz to highlight the administration’s efforts to fight climate change (Greenwire, Feb. 8). The infrastructure law has slated $5 billion over five years for EPA’s clean school bus program. It has been a popular program at the agency. Faced with growing demand, EPA doubled its first-year funding to close to $1 billion to provide clean buses for roughly 400 school districts, Regan said.” [E&E News, 2/8/23 (=)]

 

Regulatory Issues To Watch For In 2023 [EPA Emissions Changes] — “A final rule from December will require stricter standards on emissions for heavy duty trucks with model years 2027 and beyond, but it’s already generating questions about how fleet managers will pursue purchases. The Environmental Protection Agency is updating its emissions standards for the first time in over 20 years, and the new rules are 80% stronger than current limits. The agency said the rule will increase the useful life of affected vehicles by 1.5 to 2.5 times, though those in the trucking industry say the move will raise costs and discourage fleets from buying new equipment. Truckload Carrier Association President Jim Ward said in a statement that the industry has made significant progress to protect the environment, where trucks today emit 60 times less than in 1988, and such engines have cut nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions by more than 98%.” [Transport Dive, 2/8/23 (=)]

 

 

Manufacturers, Fleets, & OEMs

 

Geely

 

Volvo, Mack Recall Some Electric Trucks Due To Combustion Risk — “Volvo Trucks and its Mack brand are recalling two electric truck models due to the risk that cabin heaters could ignite. Recalls encompass certain 2019–2023 Mack LR Electric and Volvo VNR Electric trucks. The recall notices say a cabin heater relay may fail, causing the coolant heater to overheat and catch fire. The two recalls affect 137 Volvo Trucks North America EVs and 43 with Mack Trucks, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Volvo Trucks noted when there’s no coolant flow or a low coolant level, the heater could catch fire. The need for fixes arose after a European Volvo safety committee issued a recall decision and report in 2021, and a North American counterpart concluded its investigation Jan. 5, 2023, according to recall reports. Dealers will update software and install replacement relays free of charge. Owners will be notified by March 19. The issue hadn’t generated any reported crashes, injuries or warranty claims, according to recall reports.” [Transport Dive, 2/7/23 (=)]

 

Shyft Group

 

Shyft To Manufacture Blue Arc Delivery Trucks In Michigan — “US vehicle manufacturer Shyft plans to invest $16 million in its Charlotte, Michigan, plant to roll out commercial vehicles from its Blue Arc EV Solution brand in the future.” [Electrive, 2/8/23 (=)]

 

Tesla Inc.

 

Tesla Cybertruck Has Plenty Of Skeptics In The Auto Industry — “Let’s begin by saying CleanTechnica has always been a big supporter of Elon Musk and Tesla. Our opinions might have been dented a bit lately by Elon’s love affair with Twitter and the massive drop in the value of its shares, but no one can deny that the Incredible Mister Musk has almost singlehandedly sparked the global transition to electric cars. Yes, BMW and Nissan were there at the beginning of the modern EV era, but Tesla was what everyone was talking about. Now that the EV market has matured a bit, everyone is waiting for the next big thing from Tesla — the Cybertruck. Many in the industry are beginning to wonder whether the Cybertruck might be a bridge too far for Musk and Tesla. Elon has a fascination with science fiction films and has openly admitted the Cybertruck, with its edgy wedge shape, was partially inspired by the imaginary vehicles featured in such classics as Blade Runner and Total Recall. He has borrowed two phrases from the Mel Brooks send-up of Star Wars known as Space Balls — Ludicrous and Plaid. Maximum Plaid mode will supposedly appear in the upcoming Tesla Roadster 2 scheduled to appear sometime this decade.” [CleanTechnica, 2/8/23 (=)]

 

 

Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles

 

A Different Definition Of Success — “Trucking sure is getting a lot of attention lately. There have been lots of new investments, with technology companies raising $10 million, $100 million, even $500 million. But the amounts aren’t really what matter. What strikes me is that these investments are occurring at an ongoing pace, and they show no signs of stopping. Last week I was in Las Vegas attending Manifest. The website for the show touts it this way: ‘Manifest Vegas brings together the most comprehensive ecosystem of innovation and transformation in supply chain and logistics.’ My interactions with people at the show got me thinking about the trucking industry—and the North American Council for Freight Efficiency’s work in it—in a broader way. Let me explain. We have technologies that can improve the efficiency of trucking today. Those are the things that we talk about inour Confidence Reports. Then we have technologies that are a little further up the technology adoption S curve. This includes things like battery-electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and hybrid vehicles. Those are the things that we talk about in ourGuidance Reports. They are things that are a little further out in the future but that we can still see coming into widespread use in the trucking industry in the not-too-distant future. And a little further out from that isautonomous trucking. It’s probably not as close as widespread adoption of zero-emission vehicles, but it is not so far in the future that it is the stuff of science fiction.” [Fleet Owner, 2/8/23 (+)]

 

Why Fleets Should Care About ESG — “There’s been a great deal of talk lately about ESG—environmental, social, and governance. According to the Corporate Finance Institute (CFI), ESG is ‘a management framework to understand and measure how sustainably an organization is operating.’ According to CFI, ‘ESG takes a holistic view that sustainability extends beyond just environmental issues.’ You may be wondering why a fleet should care about ESG. The reality is that more and more investors, shippers, and other stakeholders are looking at a company’s performance in this area to determine whether they want to do business. In addition, the Securities & Exchange Commission has proposed a rule to standardize the reporting of the efforts publicly held companies are making in the area of climate-related risks. … The good news is that there are a lot of technology solutions available for fleets to consider, including clean diesel, compressed natural gas, battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell trucks, biodiesel, and more. There is no one powertrain option that will work for every fleet, nor even one that will work for every duty cycle. However, I believe fleets need to start exploring the options that will work best for them today and make the proper purchasing decisions. This may mean operating with multiple fuel sources. I also believe we are going to see lenders asking questions of fleets about their progress with ESG, and that information may, at some point, determine whether a fleet can get financing for its assets.” [Fleet Owner, 2/8/23 (+)]

 

Charging Infrastructure Holds Back EV Truck Production, Deployment — “As decarbonization interests—and pressures—intensify within the trucking industry, it’s becoming more apparent that creating the infrastructure needed to power the future heavy-duty vehicles that fuel the U.S. economy won’t just take money. It is going to take time. Trucking’s current fueling network is so ingrained in the fabric of America that many might not recall what it took to create after the industry switched from gasoline to diesel as its primary fuel in the 1950s. ‘The truck stops started building out in the ‘70s,’ Craig Harper, chief sustainability officer at J.B. Hunt, said during Manifest 2023. ‘So they’ve had 50 years to develop this network of infrastructure that we all benefit from.’ ‘We don’t worry if we’re going to be able to get fuel—we just worry if we’re going to pay 2 or 3 cents too much per gallon,’ he said during a Feb. 1 panel on clean and efficient transportation systems. ‘How are we going to replicate that in the EV space in a short period of time? That’s a real challenge because it takes a lot of power—and it takes a lot of real estate. That’s among the drawbacks here.’” [Fleet Owner, 2/8/23 (+)]

 

 

States & Local

 

Regulatory Issues To Watch For In 2023 [California Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation] — “The California Air Resources Board is slated to reach a final decision this spring on new rules that would require zero-emission vehicles at ports and could force large carriers to overhaul their fleets. Changes could begin as early as 2024 for certain commercial truck purchases. Newly registered drayage trucks, for example, would have to have a zero-emission powertrain starting in 2035, accordingto a proposal. Medium- and heavy- duty trucks in general would also have to be zero-emission beginning model year 2040 — if the ultimate purchaser is in California. Trucking voices such as the Harbor Trucking Association noted concerns over infrastructure availability, deployment timelines and other constraints, such as vehicle range capabilities. The group’s CEO, Matt Schrap, asked the board in submitted comments to ‘come back with a realistic proposal that considers the challenges and potential impacts to drayage operators.’” [Transport Dive, 2/8/23 (=)]

 

 

Research & Analysis

 

New ICCT Study Fuels Debate On Heavy-Duty Vehicle Emissions — “As the European Commission prepares to present a new draft law on commercial vehicle emissions next week, the International Council on Clean Transportation is providing new material for the debate in Brussels. We asked the ICCT directly what their findings mean for future purchasing decisions. To be blunt, the new ICCT study clearly states that battery electric powertrains are superior to all other fuelled types in saving greenhouse gas emissions. This, says the ICCT, ‘indicates a clear path to decarbonisation of the sector’. In doing so, the results go on to show that battery electric models achieve the greatest emission reductions among all vehicles, even assuming the EU’s current electricity mix, which is known not to be too green yet but will continue to improve over the lifetime of the vehicles. The life cycle is the key to the environmental organisation’s findings – more on that in a moment. The ICCT’s results are not entirely surprising; other studies and institutes have come to similar conclusions, also for passenger cars. Nevertheless, the ICCT report comes in time to support the EU Commission’s expected draft legislation. Leaked documents, seen by the German Tagesspiegel Background, show that the EU is concentrating on battery-electric solutions and hydrogen; e-fuels, for which some German politicians wanted a loophole to be left open, play no role in the Commission’s draft. Fire brigade and military vehicles could be the only exception.” [Electrive, 2/8/23 (=)]

 

 

 

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