NEWSNOTES | May 9, 2024
News Notes

The Biden Administration has announced $100 million in funding for small and medium-size auto parts manufacturers to upgrade their facilities and train their workforce. The funds are intended to help suppliers convert from manufacturing parts for internal combustion engines (ICE) vehicles to manufacturing parts for the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain. 

This week Electrada and Holman announced a comprehensive new electrification program. Electrada is  a Cincinnati-based company  that provides electric fuel solutions and Holman is a global automotive services organization. The newest customer taking advantage of their support is Red Bull, which is adding EV’s into their mix beginning with the electrification of its distribution fleet across multiple sites in California.

Daimler Truck has announced autonomous and electric truck technologies combined on a single vehicle platform. The Freightliner eCascadia-based tractor will carry out runs between Laredo and Dallas, Texas for the first test. The demonstration vehicle is a 6x4 tractor equipped with a Detroit ePowertrain.

Watt EV opened the first solar-powered electric truck stop in the nation this week in Bakersfield, California. The $25 million project received funding from the California Energy Commission (CEC) which covered about $5 million. The electric charging station features a solar-powered microgrid with a battery energy storage system.

CALSTART members BAE Systems and Eaton are expanding their partnership to scale up efforts to enhance EV systems for heavy-duty trucks. BAE is an electric propulsion pioneer and Eaton is a global power management leader. Their partnership now offers complete electric drive system solutions that are efficient, advanced, and adaptable.

Hyundai is expanding its hydrogen fuel cell truck fleet across California including San Francisco and the Central Valley. There are already 30 XCIENT fuel cell trucks being used in Oakland. The project is the largest single commercial deployment of Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell trucks in the U.S.  Electrek is reporting on Hyzon having just revealed North America’s first hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric refuse truck at Waste Expo in Las Vegas.

Amazon plans to be carbon neutral by 2040 and toward that end the company is adding 50 electric trucks to its delivery fleet. Some of the trucks will work as part of Amazon’s drayage fleet, moving goods from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to its fulfillment center in Santa Fe Springs, CA.

Several CALSTART members are listed in CarandDriver’s rundown of the future EVs you will be able to buy. The listed EVs are not for sale yet  but you can get a sneak peek at possible upcoming models from Audi, General Motors, Ford, Hyundai, Tesla, and Rivian.

 

RESOURCES