NEWSNOTES | June 13, 2024
News Notes

Electrify America is doing its part to grow charger availability around the country. This year they are expanding to 5,000 chargers. The investments they are applying to make that happen will exceed $500 million in infrastructure development, technological research, and customer support. Voltera’s strong equity backing allows them to deliver megawatt charging at a faster pace. The California-based Charging Infrastructure as a Service company provides a Megawatt Charging System (MCS) designed to enable faster charging times for large battery packs that are necessary for long-haul trucks and other commercial vehicle types.   

Kudos to ABB for securing a contract from Metrolinx, an Ontario government agency. The agreement means that ABB E-mobility will provide 57 plug-in chargers and nine pantograph chargers that have charging speeds of around 150kW. The global e-bus market is predicted to record a compound annual growth rate of 16.6% until 2025. News and opinion website Jalopnik showcased the success of Blue Bird, a recognized technology leader and innovator of school buses for almost 100 years. The company is outperforming financial expectations in part due to a $5 billion government incentive program and a 500-unit backlog. The Drive reports that in 2024 Blue Bird has the best-performing stock of any EV manufacturer, buses or otherwise.  

Demonstrations of hydrogen ICE trucks on-road will begin in 2026 with a global launch in 2030. Volvo Group will be a supplier for Westport Fuel Systems. Tests are currently taking place in a lab and they will have combustion engines that can run on green hydrogen. Is the hydrogen tidal wave upon us? The fuel cell vehicle (FCV) market is expected to grow from $2.5 billion in 2022 to over $30 billion by 2032. There are many contributors to the market growth. Stricter regulations, government investments, and the growth of FCVs in Japan and South Korea are among them. 

One very large battery-electric mining truck was on display yesterday as a team from Australian mining company BHP  visited Caterpillar’s Tucson Proving Ground to witness the CAT battery-electric  haul truck in action. The sheer size of it is a wonder to behold. BHP is working to decarbonize their operations.  
 

RESOURCES

• Electrify America’s Plans, Pocket Lint
• Voltera CEO: Megawatt Charging Can’t Come Soon Enough, Clean Trucking 
• ABB to Supply 66 e-bus Charging Systems, Electric Autonomy 
• Growing Electric School Bus Adoption, Jalopnik 
• Bluebird Stock Doing Well, The Drive 
• June CALSTART Member Webinars 
• Volvo Announces Plans for Hydrogen ICE Truck Testing, Fleet Equipment Magazine 
• The Hydrogen Tidal Wave is Upon Us, Carbon Credits 
• Caterpillar Early Learner Battery-Electric Mining Truck, International Mining