Drive to Zero Newsletter – January 2023

Dear Drive to Zero™ Pledge Partners and Allies:

We are kicking off 2023 with a new analysis on the zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicle (ZE-MHDV) market in Mexico, one of the world’s leading truck manufacturers. This report, Technology and Commercialization Pathways for Zero-Emission Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles in Mexico / Rutas Tecnológicas y Comerciales Para La Adopción De Vehículos Medianos Y Pesados De Cero Emisiones En México, analyzes the technical feasibility of the country achieving the new ZE-MHDV sales goals established in the Global Memorandum of Understanding on Zero-Emission Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles (Global MOU).

Percentage of New ZE-MHDV Sales by Vehicle Segment, 2020-2050

Given Mexico’s existing market conditions, barriers, and opportunities, these projections show that five out of the six vehicle categories analyzed can reach between 94% and 100% ZE-MHDV sales by 2040. Mexico is well-positioned to increase its ambition to match the international targets of 30% new ZE-MHDV sales by 2030 and 100% by 2040. Strategically accelerating zero-emission truck and bus deployments would make Mexico a leader in transport decarbonization, significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and help meet the growing demand for ZE-MHDVs.

As a companion to this analysis, we have also updated our suite of online tools to include data specific to Mexico, including:

— Owen MacDonnell, Technical Project Manager II, CALSTART / Drive to Zero

Program Updates

New Global MOU Endorsers

The Drive to Zero team would like to thank two new industry endorsers for joining the world’s most ambition global agreement to address emissions from transport: Rivian and Donaldson.

The complete list of Global MOU signatories and endorsers can be found here.

Global MOU Thematic Deep Dive Series Wrap-up

Our sixth and final Thematic Deep Dive (TDD) discussion for current and prospective Global MOU signatory countries was held last week. This series shared data, tools, and resources, and connected countries with leading technology and business experts to support signatories in advancing their ZE-MHDV ambitions. Click on the links below for recordings of each webinar and access to presentations from global zero-emission technology, policy, manufacturing, finance, fleet, and infrastructure experts:

Signatories will need to work strategically and collaboratively to enable 30% new ZE-MHDV sales by 2030 and 100% by 2040. Drive to Zero looks forward to continuing to build these global partnerships and provide guidance for meeting these goals—stay tuned for future resources and discussions!

Drive to Zero Supports Call to Set Date for 100% ZE Heavy-Duty Vehicles in EU

As the European Union (EU) looks to revise its CO2 standards next month, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, and Luxembourg have urged the European Commission to set a 100% zero emissions target for heavy-duty vehicles, in addition to a stronger 2030 emissions target for trucks and buses and application of the CO2 standards to more vehicle categories. These targets are in line with the EU’s objective of climate neutrality by 2050 and build on ambitions undertaken by manufacturers and fleet owners.

A new study from Transport & Environment shows that a target date is both necessary to meet the EU’s climate change goals and possible—by 2035, almost all new electric freight trucks in Europe will be cheaper to operate than diesel; almost all freight trucks in Europe travel less than 800 km/day, which is within the range of the newest battery-electric trucks when charged during the legally required stops every 360 km; and manufacturers are already making voluntary commitments to electrify.

The European Commission will propose new CO2 standards for heavy-duty vehicles on February 14, 2023.

Join the Drive to Zero Team

Drive to Zero has an exciting job opening: the Global Program Manager will lead Drive to Zero’s partner recruitment and engagement, infrastructure work, and Drive to Zero activities in key regions. Please help us spread the word.

News Updates

The first headlines of the year include Global MOU signatory countries exhibiting leadership in accelerating zero-emission transport, touching on several cornerstone topics of our TDD series. For instance, the city of Oslo launched a grant scheme this month that sees the city carrying up to 80% of installation costs for charging stations for electric trucks and buses, which will help accelerate public availability of fast charging for heavy-duty vehicles. The United States also debuted its blueprint to decarbonize all of U.S. transport, a first-of-its-kind strategy for the federal government. At the state level, New York City has already announced a plan to replace its government fleet with 900 electric vehicles, which would include 360 Ford E-Transit vans.

Fleet electrification of this magnitude has gained serious traction across the globe—particularly in transit, with increasingly large orders to manufacturers. New Flyer has contracted with Winnipeg Transit in Canada for up to 150 battery-electric and fuel cell electric buses over four years; VDL Bus & Coach received its largest order ever of up to 193 new-generation VDL Citea models to run public transport in the Netherlands’ Zaanstreek-Waterland concession; and IVECO BUS has signed a three-year agreement to deliver 150 E-WAY full electric city buses to Busitalia, Italy. Ports are also upping demand for heavy-duty trucks: the first of 304 terminal tractors from BYD arrived at ports in Indiathis month, which are all scheduled to enter service later this year. Two electric trucks were also deployed on container flows to the Port of Gothenburg in Sweden, though larger deployments in the country can be expected soon thanks to a charging network for electric trucks that will allow logistics businesses to replace most of the 85,000 heavy trucks currently on Swedish roads with electric vehicles.

Governments and manufacturers continue to show interest in not only replacing diesel models but also converting them to zero-emission drivetrains. The Rouen municipality in northern France is having 49 diesel intercity buses converted to electric drives to operate as school buses. Dutch company Terberg Techniek has developed a conversion kit for Zepp.solutions’ fuel cell systems, which they have used to convert two-wheeled excavators from diesel to hydrogen-electric; the company plans to use this kit to convert other construction equipment from diesel to hydrogen-electric powertrains. Another noteworthy technological advancement is Aircore Mobility’s new propulsion and traction motor that can power commercial electric vehicles which, compared to conventional motors, is claimed to be 10 times more reliable, 10% more efficient, 50% smaller and lighter, and uses 66% less copper.

Please share new information, potential partners, and innovative practices to achieve our Drive to Zero goals at info@globaldrivetozero.org. Follow us on Twitter @TeamDrivetoZero. Please feel free to share this newsletter with others.

– Emily Varnell, Technical Writer, CALSTART

News Digest

 

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 Fleet Deployments

Manufacturers and Models: Trucks and Buses

Manufacturers and Models: Port Equipment and Off-Road

Government Policies

Financial Incentives

Fuels & Infrastructure

Batteries & Technology