NEWSNOTES | March 1, 2023
News Notes

NEWSNOTES | March 1, 2023

NEWSNOTES | March 1, 2023

Wednesday, March 1, 2023 / Kimberly Taylor

CALSTART, Cummins and National Grid are among the recipients of $7 million in funding from the Departments of Energy (DOE) and Transportation for hydrogen projects and electric truck funding. CALSTART’s award is for an east coast commercial ZEV corridor while National Grid will conduct a northeast electric highways study. Cummins received funds to develop a two-phase medium- and heavy-duty EV charging and hydrogen fueling plan for the Midwest I-80 corridor.

Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA), under the leadership of CEO Kirt Conrad, has put Ohio on the map as he built one of the largest hydrogen fuel cell transit fleets in the country. Ohio Public Radio looks at SARTA as well as the many impressive accomplishments of others who are working to accelerate hydrogen growth in The Buckeye State. Philadelphia’s transit agency SEPTA is adding 10 New Flyer fuel cell electric buses (FCEB’s) as it develops plans for a zero-emission (ZE) bus fleet. 90% of SEPTA’s current buses are electric-diesel hybrids.

Electric school buses are garnering more market share as well and First Student has deployed its first electric school bus in Oregon. The company is a student transportation provider that partnered with a school district and secured a grant from member company Portland General Electric’s School Bus Fund.

Kudos to on-demand shuttle service and transit tech company Via which has raised another $110 million, bringing their total funding to around $1 billion. Via’s software helps public transportation agencies, municipalities and school districts with services that benefit a city’s entire transportation ecosystem.

For years many have been awaiting the news about who will receive the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) contract for electric mail trucks. The USPS plans to purchase 21,000 EVs and the first of those contracts was won by Ford which will provide 9,250 EVs. The deliveries will begin at the end of the year. The USPS will also purchase 14,000 EV charging stations.

VinGroup, a large Vietnamese conglomerate, and the electric car manufacturer VinFast are poised to start delivery of their vehicles in California beginning today. Following the U.S. debut, the company will deliver EVs to Canada, Germany, France, and Holland.

Lithium-ion battery recycling company Li-Cycle has secured a conditional commitment for a $375 million loan from the DOE. The funds will be used to develop a recycling facility for key battery materials near Rochester, NY. When fully operational, the plant is expected to process batteries from 200,000 EV’s annually.

Global strategic engineering consulting company Ricardo is hosting a mobility summit one week from tomorrow that will look at the future of mobility in 2035 and beyond. Great topics and experts from Cummins, Proterra, Lightning eMotors, Lion Electric and GM will share their vision of what lies ahead. More information is available here.

Indianapolis takes center stage next week as they present Work Truck Week 2023 in Indianapolis. Just a reminder that CALSTART’s member only reception is Monday, March 6 and if you haven’t yet signed up it’s not too late!

 

RESOURCES 

DOE and DOT Award $7 Million for EV Charging, Hydrogen, ChargedEVs | https://bit.ly/3y3kWwE 

Ohio Makes Its Mark on the Hydrogen Market, WVXU | https://bit.ly/3mkgBlR 

SEPTA Adds 10 New Flyer Hydrogen FC Buses to Fleet, Metro | https://bit.ly/3y23LeN 

First Student Deploys First Electric School Bus in Oregon, NGT News | https://bit.ly/3IHn41M 

Via Raises $110M at $3.5B Valuation, TechCrunch | https://tcrn.ch/3KI0VDj 

Ford Wins US Postal Service Contract for 9,250 E-Transits, electrek | https://bit.ly/3maTPNj 

Vietnam’s VinFast to Start EV Deliveries in California, U.S. News | https://bit.ly/3ELV9g2 

Li-Cycle Scores DOE Recycling Development Loan, CleanTechnica | https://bit.ly/3SIkPjE 

Convergence: Energy and Mobility in 2035, Ricardo | https://bit.ly/3xZXbWj 

NTEA’s Work Truck Week March 7-10, Electrical Business | https://bit.ly/3Z96cYQ