NEWSNOTES | December 14, 2022
News Notes

NEWSNOTES | December 14, 2022

NEWSNOTES | December 14, 2022

Wednesday, December 14, 2022 / Kimberly Taylor

The American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council met this fall, and the role of technicians was a hot topic. Taki Darakos with Pitt Ohio (formerly with FedEx) is no stranger to the planning required in adopting new technologies. The for-hire carrier recommends meetings with equipment manufacturers, regional transit authorities and power companies to get the necessary knowledge to transition to EVs.

The orders for electric trucks are getting bigger by the minute and Wisconsin-based Schneider will soon take delivery of almost 100 class 8 battery-electric semi-trucks. They will become one of the largest electric fleets in North America. Volvo Trucks is expanding their offerings with the introduction of rigid versions of its heavy electric trucks. The new heavy rigid trucks include the Volvo FH, Volvo FM and Volvo FMX.

There’s more talk lately about converting electric semi-trucks to battery electric. Janus Electric, based in Australia, is coming to the U.S. The company converts existing diesel engine trucks due for a rebuild or replacement with a new electric motor at a comparable cost to rebuild an existing diesel motor. Optimal EV and Fontaine Modification Work Truck and EV Solutions have introduced a new repower solution that also converts traditional gasoline or diesel-powered trucks and buses to zero-emissions electric power. The Optimal EV is based on the Ford E-450 cutaway chassis. Fontaine’s applications include school buses, shuttle buses, delivery vans, and specialty vehicles.

Hyundai is focused on the U.S. market, and they are positioning themselves for leadership in the fuel cell truck arena. The South Korean automaker will bring 35 trucks to the U.S. in 2023. Hyundai has worked on fuel cell technology since 1998. Nuvera Fuel Cells is a provider of heavy-duty fuel-cell engines for on- and off-road mobility is powering a Hyster top pick container handler with two E-45 fuel cell engines at the Port of Los Angeles in Long Beach, California. Refueling should take 15 minutes and the vehicle is expected to provide eight to ten hours of continuous run time.

As if ‘round the clock package delivery isn’t enough, manufacturer Rivian has delivered an electric delivery vehicle that YouTuber Doug DeMuro has nice things to say about. He comments on the solid engineering and design work for this purpose-built vehicle. Check this out to see the features garnering a lot of enthusiasm. 

Does all this EV talk make you want one? Northwest Renewables is here to help with 12 reasons (think of the 12 days of Christmas) you should run, not walk, to get your new EV. Reason #3 is “you get a tax credit,” and to help you decipher what exactly that means, electrek is here with a list of every EV that qualifies for the current and upcoming US federal tax credit.

And, if you want to subtly bring your work talk to family gatherings this season, you could consider purchasing Are You an EV, a book for children written by CALSTART member Ideanomics.  The book is available at Amazon, Barnes&Noble and Walmart.

 

RESOURCES

Fleet Maintenance Providers Prepare for Electric Trucks, Transport Topics | https://bit.ly/3Prr2P3

Schneider Orders Nearly 100 Freightliner Electric Trucks, InsideEVs | https://bit.ly/3Yp2jin

Volvo Expands Its Electric Truck Offering, Green Car Congress | https://bit.ly/3FPF6yG

Converted Electric Semi Trucks Getting More Popular, Cleantechnica | https://bit.ly/3FPBYmz

Optimal EV, Fontaine Modification Repowers, NGTNews | https://bit.ly/3VQc8V3

Hyundai’s Xcient Positioned for US Fuel Cell Leadership, FreightWaves | https://bit.ly/3uNJ7xt

Nuvera Powers Fuel Cell Shipping Container at the POLA, yahoo! | https://yhoo.it/3WgYU3p

Rivian and Amazon’s EV Van is a Big and Clever, Jalopnik | https://bit.ly/3FwSu9P

Every EV That Qualifies for an Electric Tax Credit, electrek | https://bit.ly/3BBl1cT

Are you an EV?, Ideanomics | https://amzn.to/3UZsdX9