South Carolina invests in 235 propane-fueled school buses

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The South Carolina Department of Education will receive $23.6 million for 235 new, propane-fueled school buses with funding from the second round of the state’s share of the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust.

The Department of Education also committed $87,400 to build two new propane fueling stations for the expanded propane school bus fleet throughout the state. The school districts expected to receive buses include: Aiken, Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester County School District Two, Greenville, Horry, Lexington School District One, Richland School District One, Richland School District Two and York School District Four.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman and South Carolina Department of Insurance (SCDOI) Director Ray Farmer announced the state’s total $24.54 million investment in school buses and public transit.

Nikola, TA-Petro Partnership Looks to Expand Hydrogen Fueling Infrastructure

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Nikola Corp., through its Nikola Energy division, and TravelCenters of America Inc. (TA-Petro), a publicly traded operator of full-service travel centers in the U.S., have agreed to collaborate on the installation of hydrogen fueling stations for heavy-duty trucks at two existing TA-Petro sites.

The collaboration is a first step for the parties to explore the mutual development of a nationwide network of hydrogen fueling stations. The collaboration is subject to negotiation and execution of definitive documentation acceptable to the parties.

“Our collaboration in southern California will form a basis for building an expanded network of hydrogen fueling stations for Nikola vehicle customers and for industry use overall,” says Pablo Koziner, president of energy and commercial at Nikola. “This collaboration forms an essential part in delivering the hydrogen-based ecosystem required to advance zero-emission solutions for commercial trucks.”

Fortistar Providing Comprehensive RNG Services with Merger of Portfolio Companies

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Fortistar LLC says two of its portfolio companies, Fortistar Methane Group (FMG), a developer of renewable natural gas (RNG) facilities, and TruStar Energy, a supplier of natural gas refueling solutions for the transportation sector, are merging under Opal Fuels LLC to form a new, fully integrated renewable fuels supply company for North America.

“In the nearly 30 years since founding Fortistar, I have never been more excited about the opportunities ahead,” says Mark Comora, president of Fortistar LLC. “Amid wildfires, heat waves, hurricanes and other extreme weather that punctuated a tumultuous 2020, the world is now more determined than ever to address climate change. Opal will help decarbonize the U.S. transportation industry – which generates the largest share of annual greenhouse gas emissions – by supplying sustainable energy fueled by RNG.”

Love’s, Cargill JV Developing Complete Renewable Diesel Pipeline

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The Love’s Family of Companies and Cargill have entered into a 50/50 joint venture to produce and market renewable diesel – a green fuel experiencing rising demand.

The joint venture – Heartwell Renewables- will result in the construction of a new production plant and more than 50 jobs in Hastings, Neb. The plant will have the ability to produce approximately 80 million gallons annually of renewable diesel.

As part of the joint venture, Cargill will provide feedstock in the form of tallow, a rendered animal fat co-product following protein processing. Once the diesel is produced, Musket, the commodity trading and logistics arm of the Love’s Family of Companies, will transport and market the product in the U.S. Heartwell Renewables will be the only entity of its kind to both produce and market renewable diesel all the way to the retail pump.

A wave of electric workhorses is coming

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When most folks think of the electrification of transportation, they naturally think about electric cars. And all those new models coming out — from Ford’s Mach-e to Volkswagen’s ID.4 — are super exciting.

But of equal importance is all those other vehicles big and small that aren’t carrying passengers on commutes or to the local Starbucks, but that are toiling behind the scenes. Vehicles such as the big rigs that carry goods across state lines, vans that drop off packages at your front door, garbage trucks that pick up our waste or the forklifts that move pallets across the floor in warehouses.

Electrifying these commercial vehicles will be potentially even more important than passenger vehicles for reducing carbon emissions and for cleaning up local air pollution. There are also more incentives for fleet managers to adopt these battery-powered vehicles, because in a growing amount of cases, electric vehicles can save companies money over using diesel power.

Clariant, Pertamina collaborate on advanced biofuels assessment

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Clariant, a focused, sustainable, and innovative specialty chemical company, is working with Indonesia’s state-owned oil and gas corporation, Pertamina, since 2018 to evaluate and test the feasibility of Clariant’s sunliquid technology to process available regional feedstocks in Indonesia into the advanced biofuel, cellulosic ethanol.

Indonesia has a vast potential of untapped biomass, from empty fruit bunches to palm leaves, that could be converted into cellulosic ethanol. Their present-day utilization is negligible and, until now, both feedstocks are frequently burnt, causing air pollution.

In Indonesia, ethanol demand is expected to increase dramatically, spurred primarily by a nationwide E10 ethanol blending mandate. Advanced fuel technology solutions, such as Clariant’s sunliquid process, are vital to match the feedstock potential with the increasing ethanol demand in the country.

USPS contractor adds propane autogas trucks through DOE grant

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Hi Pro Inc. is adding five Class 6 straight box propane autogas delivery trucks to its fleet. The company, a nationwide mail logistics contractor, has more than 40 years of service history with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).

The vehicles are part of a $1 million research pilot project funded through the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. The project, “Delivering Clean Air in Denver: Propane Trucks and Infrastructure in Mail Delivery Application,” will fund the purchase and deployment for Hi Pro Inc.’s fleet in Denver.

The Denver Metro Clean Cities Coalition (DMCC) has partnered with the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory to track data and performance measurements of the propane autogas trucks. DMCC will work with the Propane Education & Research Council to provide educational materials using the collected data.

Tucker Perkins to keynote virtual Green Bus Summit

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Tucker Perkins, president and CEO of the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), will provide this year’s keynote address at the Green Bus Summit Virtual Conference, presented by School Transportation News, April 20-22.

Perkins will take the virtual stage at 11 a.m. Eastern on April 20. Titled “Accelerating Decarbonization with Propane School Buses,” Perkins’ address will detail why more than 1,000 school districts across the country are investing in propane autogas to provide a clean, safe ride to school for their students without sacrificing the performance, affordability and reliability required of a school bus, according to PERC. Perkins will also compare propane autogas buses to other alternative energy solutions and detail how propane autogas school buses are the best option to accelerate the decarbonization of the school transportation market fastest.

DOE SuperTruck 3 to Focus on Truck Electrification

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The third installment of the Department of Energy’s SuperTruck research and development funding project will focus on electric and fuel-cell trucks, and will address a broader range of vehicles than the tractor-trailers involved in the first two projects.

Secretary Jennifer Granholm announced $100 million in funding for SuperTruck 3 during a webinar April 15. Joining that webinar was the North American Council for Freight Efficiency, which also is focusing on electric trucks in its Run on Less Electric demonstration project this year.

The initial SuperTruck project, launched in 2009 by the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, aimed to improve heavy-duty tractor-trailer freight efficiency by 50%.

2021 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo agenda released

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This week, Ethanol Producer Magazine announced the preliminary agenda for the 2021 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo (FEW) taking place July 13-15, 2021 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, Iowa.

This year’s agenda includes two new collocated events: Biodiesel & Renewable Diesel Summit and National Biomass Summit, along with two pre-conference events: Low Carbon Efficiency Summit and Ethanol 101.