NEWSNOTES | July 28, 2021
News Notes

The long-awaited infrastructure bill in the U.S. Senate looks like it will move forward, possibly with a test vote this evening. Public transit has been a sticking point for the deal which is expected to cost over $1.2 trillion over eight years.

The Biden administration is busy preparing car rules proposing new limits for cars that could surpass Obama-era emissions reductions requiring the average fuel economy of new vehicles to rise 5% each year until reaching 51 mpg by 2025. Green groups are mobilizing to call for tougher standards. Hello Minnesota and welcome to the club of states that have adopted California’s clean car rule. The Clean Cars plan would require all new passenger vehicles sold in Minnesota to be more fuel efficient and produce less pollution.

Good things are happening in Houston. CALSTART member Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County is poised to add zero-emission vehicles to its fleet. As part of their larger climate action plan the agency will purchase 20 full-sized electric buses and 10 paratransit vans. It’s not known which bus company they will work with. AC Transit in the Bay Area is out with the first iteration of its zero-emission transit bus technology analysis (ZETBTA). The analysis compared fuel cell, battery electric, diesel hybrid and conventional diesel. Their global study compared engine technologies in use by transit properties and concluded that fuel cell electric buses had the highest fleet mileage out of all other options.

Congratulations to electric truck and bus manufacturer Arrival which has announced the first customer for its lightweight battery bus. Anaheim Transportation Network and the City of Anaheim will replace five liquefied natural gas buses with Arrival’s 40-foot electric models to be built at their microfactory in South Carolina.

XL Fleet is announcing two new partnerships. The first is a partnership with ARBOC Specialty Vehicles, a subsidiary of NFI Group, to offer hybrid electric bus options. ARBOC has sold 39 vehicles so far with the XL Hybrid system installed. The second partnership is with eNow which provides solar and battery power systems for electric transport refrigeration units (eTRUs) for commercial vehicle trailers. Beginning next year they will deliver eTRUs to industries that include food, retail, manufacturing and distribution.

CALSTART was delighted to join forces with the Colorado Cleantech Industries Association (CCIA) to present the recent Commercial Vehicle Cleantech Challenge (CVCC). Many CALSTART members were judges and sponsors as 12 companies shared their technologies. Odyne systems was a finalist and the winner was Canada-based Lithion Recycling which has a sustainable battery recycling solution.

Awesomely Weird Alibaba EV of the Week was my find of the day. Micah Toll loves EVs, humor, writing and discovering atypical electric offerings like a stretch limo trike and a one-wheeled electric motorcycle. Check out today’s offering, a sweet 3-passenger electric bike for $750.

RESOURCES

Senate GOP Ready to Move Forward on Infrastructure Bill, PBS - https://to.pbs.org/3ycIXQ7

Biden Car Rules Won’t Account for Trump Era CO2, E&E News - https://bit.ly/3j1IRol

Minnesota Becomes First Midwestern State to Adopt Clean Car Rule, Duluth News Tribune - https://bit.ly/3ynodFi

Houston Metro To Add EV Buses and Vans to Fleet, Metro Magazine - https://bit.ly/3zHHm5e

AC Transit: Fuel Cell Buses Get High Fleet Mileage, H2-View - https://bit.ly/2WvUcFx

Disneyland Picks Arrival, Forbes - https://bit.ly/3l9m3p8

XL and NFI Partnership, Mass Transit - https://bit.ly/3xbpJsI

XL Fleet eNow Partner on Refrigerated Trailers, Transport Topics - https://bit.ly/3ybBYag 

Lithion Recycling Wins Clean Tech Challenge, Colorado Clean Tech Industries Association - https://bit.ly/3yhxVcE

Awesomely Weird Alibaba EV of the Week, electrek - https://bit.ly/3rD5Z00