Drive to Zero Newsletter – February 2021

Dear Drive to Zero Pledge Partners and Allies:

In order to enable carbon neutrality by 2050, major European truck manufacturers including Scania, Daimler, Volvo, MAN, DAF, and CNH, under the umbrella of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), for the first time announced that all new commercial vehicles must be fossil free by 2040. This builds on previous announcements in California that all medium- and heavy-duty vehicles on the road must be zero emissions by 2045. This will require a major and welcome transformation of our industry, and governments will need to establish the right ecosystems of regulations and strong incentives to speed cost parity and enable the early introduction of zero-emission regulations. As California, the new US administration, the European Commission, and China work on the next round of vehicle regulations, it will be important to raise their level of ambition and establish the policy ecosystems to enable the goal of 100 percent of new commercial vehicles be zero emissions by 2040.

– Cristiano Façanha, Global Director, CALSTART/Drive to Zero


Drive to Zero Program Progress and Updates

Clean Mobility Shift: A Pathway to Zero-Emission Heavy-Duty Vehicles in India

Drive to Zero implementation partner, Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, recently launched the Clean Mobility Shift, a knowledge hub for stakeholders working on zero-emission transportation in India. Our own Peter Jenkins highlights how policies and investments can support the growth of zero-emission manufacturing and a cleaner, healthier commercial vehicle sector. (LINK)

Driving California Forward: 2021 CALSTART Policy Summit

Join CALSTART TODAY from 10:00am to 2:00pm Pacific for the conclusion of its virtual policy summit. Our policy team will be joined by key policymakers, CALSTART members, and industry leaders for meaningful discussion of forward-thinking solutions to achieving California’s ambitious climate goals and zero-emission vehicle targets. This year’s event will focus on how the state can achieve goals recently set by Governor Newsom’s Executive Order and CARB’s Advanced Clean Trucks regulation. (LINK)

Socialize with Global Drive to Zero, Professionally

The Drive to Zero program and campaign now has a LinkedIn page! Follow us for news about our program, our partners’ progress, and exciting new updates in the zero-emission commercial vehicle space. (LINK)

Clean Commercial Transportation Update

Tune into CALSTART’s news webinar series, CCTU, on Friday, March 19th at 11am Pacific for a live 30-minute update on the latest in clean transportation news. Hosted by CALSTART’s Bill Van Amburg, Executive Vice President, and Alycia Gilde, Senior Director, we bring you the innovation leaders who are changing transportation for good. CCTU will return to a weekly webcast in April. (LINK


Drive to Zero Pledge Partners Update

Volta Trucks, a zero-emission urban freight vehicle manufacturer – recently joined the continuously growing Drive to Zero pledge partner ranks. Thank you for your efforts and dedication, we look forward to working with you as we collectively pursue a clean commercial vehicle sector!


News Updates

Governments, from the federal level down to the state, have welcomed 2021 by advancing much-needed zero-emission commercial vehicle policies. In the past month, a few trends have emerged:

These commitments to commercial ZEV deployment underscore the potential for large-scale economic growth and employment opportunities, such as California has seen across all ZEV jobs. International energy company Shell includes zero-emission fuels and infrastructure as pillars of its climate plan, and charging company EVgo’s expected raising of nearly $600 million joins a rapidly growing industry that will be making large-scale infrastructure investments globally. These investments in new technologies may provide reliable, well-paying jobs that are accessible to lower- and middle-class workers. Commercial ZEVs may deliver equitable economic opportunities that will meet Biden’s climate and social justice goals.

Reach out to us to share new information, potential partners, and innovative practices to achieve our Drive to Zero goals at info@globaldrivetozero.org, and please feel free to share this newsletter with others. The updates described above and additional news stories are linked below.

Dan Welch, Senior Project Manager, CALSTART


News Links

Events / Reports

  • Fleet Owners: For Big Savings, Plan Now for Electrification (LINK)
  • NACFE Presents: Run on Less – Electric (LINK)
  • How China put nearly 5 million new energy vehicles on the road in one decade (LINK)
  • EV100 Progress and Insights Report 2021 (LINK)
  • Lessons from NFI’s Electric Truck Adoption (LINK)
  • Clean Mobility Shift: A Knowledge Hub for India’s clean mobility transition (LINK)

 Market

  • The secret to moving past electric vehicle pilots (LINK)
  • European hydrogen consortium to develop standard for heavy fuel cell trucks (LINK)
  • US coalition forms Hydrogen Forward (LINK)

 Fleet Deployments

  • Mahindra Logistics launches electric last-mile delivery service (LINK)
  • Amazon’s electric Rivian vans will start making deliveries in 16 cities this year (LINK)
  • Lion Electric gets the largest order so far for electric school buses in North America (LINK)

Manufacturers and Models: Trucks and Buses

  • First Student, First Transit Enter Bus Electrification Agreement (LINK)
  • Ontario: GM to convert CAMI into commercial EV plant (LINK)
  • Nikola Backer Luxor Invests in European Electric Truck Startup (LINK)

Manufacturers and Models: Port Equipment and Off-Road

  • ABB drives zero-emission ferries in South Korea (LINK)
  • Futuricum delivers 3 concrete mixer e-trucks to Holcim, Switzerland (LINK)

Environment

  • Clean Trucks Can Deliver Biden’s Goals For Climate, Jobs, and Equity (LINK)
  • Smog Is Contributing To Pine Tree Deaths — And That’s A Set Up For Huge Fires (LINK)
  • ‘Invisible killer’: fossil fuels caused 8.7m deaths globally in 2018, research finds (LINK)

Financial Incentives

  • New Zealand funds 22 projects in emission-free transport (LINK)
  • British Columbia increases maximum rebates for commercial EVs (LINK)
  • European Commission approves €2.9 for a second pan-European battery value chain research and innovation project (LINK)
  • New Jersey Governor Announces $100M for Electric Vehicles (LINK)

Government Policies

  • California proposes points system to track zero-emissions trucks at warehouses (LINK)
  • ZETA Insights: Buses and trucks are ready for electrification, but policies are needed to propel the industry (LINK)
  • Trudeau sees ‘real opportunity’ for collaboration with U.S. on electric vehicles, critical minerals (LINK)
  • Gothenburg to launch emission-free zone (LINK)
  • Swiss federal government considers buying electric from 2022 (LINK)
  • Biden plan to electrify federal fleet will boost EV market, but many questions remain, experts say (LINK)
  • Transport for London adds 300 electric vehicle charging points ahead of ULEZ expansion (LINK)
  • Manufacturer MAN finds eTGM truck promising for off-peak deliveries (LINK)

Utility Policies

  • Colorado approves Xcel’s $110M transportation electrification plan (LINK)

Fuels & Infrastructure

  • Charging company EVgo is going public via SPAC merger (LINK)
  • An $80,000 Per Year Job of the Future: EV Charging Station Technician (LINK)
  • Utilities Must Prepare as Megawatt Charging Nears (LINK)
  • EV charging stations, biofuels, the hydrogen transition and chemicals are pillars of Shell’s climate plan (LINK)

 Batteries & Technology

  • Electric car batteries with five-minute charging times produced (LINK)
  • Amazon-Backed Rivian Plans Electric-Vehicle Plant in Europe (LINK)