Fleets Invest in B-100 to Reduce Emissions

Posted by & filed under National.

The City of Ames, Iowa, and the Washington D.C. Department of Public Works have both used B-100 in their fleets, expanding use of the fuel after successful pilots.

B-100 is 100% biodiesel, and by using Optimus Technologies’ technology, it can be used in conventional diesel-powered vehicles, according to Renewable Energy Group (REG). REG provides B-100 as well as turnkey services including storage tanks, dispensers, and logistics solutions.

The City of Ames began using B-100 in 2020 on five city-owned vehicles. They were successfully used during a polar vortex, where temperatures reached -20 degrees F.

FAPRI predicts increased demand for E15, higher ethanol exports

Posted by & filed under National.

The University of Missouri’s Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute in mid-March released its 2021 U.S. Agricultural Market Outlook, predicting an increase in demand for midlevel ethanol blends, a recovery in ethanol net returns, and increased exports over the next decade.

The report notes that the COVID-19 pandemic upended agricultural markets over the past year. Looking ahead, FAPRI said the outlook for agriculture “is uncertain, but certainly more optimistic than it was a few months ago.”

For ethanol, FAPRI predicts some recovery in motor fuel demand this year, but does not expect gasoline use to reach pre-pandemic levels through the 10-year projection period to 2030. The report, however, predicts that an expansion in midlevel ethanol blends, such as E15, will lead to slow but steady growth in domestic ethanol use.

US farmers to plant 87.6 million acres of soybeans in 2021

Posted by & filed under National.

U.S. agriculture producers intend to plant an estimated 87.6 million acres of soybeans in 2021, up 5 percent when compared to last year, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service’s March 31 Prospective Plantings report.

If realized, the USDA said this will be the third highest planted acreage on record. When compared to 2020, planted soybean acreage is expected to be up or unchanged in 23 of the 29 states estimated.

NASS also released its quarterly Grain Stocks report on March 31, reporting that soybeans stored totaled 1.56 billion bushels as of March 1, down 31 when compared to the same period of last year. On-farm soybean stocks were down 41 percent, while off-farm stocks were down 22 percent.

Does Your ‘Zero-Emissions’ Vehicle Really Offer the Lowest Emissions?

Posted by & filed under National.

In recent years, the conversations surrounding the future of sustainable transportation have centered around two buzzwords: zero emissions. Those buzzwords have gained so much traction, that local and federal regulations are focusing on transitioning fleets to only zero-emissions vehicles in the next 10-20 years. While there are certainly good intentions behind these regulations, they may also be misguided.

That is, there is certainly more to vehicle emissions than measuring only what is produced at the tailpipe.

A new study produced in cooperation with the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) looks at all the steps involved in providing fuel for electric vehicles, which many states are looking to as a way to quickly reduce emissions in medium- and heavy-duty (MD-HD) fleet vehicles. As the study explains, there is no such thing as a fully zero-emissions vehicle.

Fitting Renewable Fuels into Your Fleet’s Sustainability Strategy

Posted by & filed under National.

Corporate sustainability is a growing topic across every transportation sector. Fleets may be making long-term plans to purchase and deploy zero-emission vehicles, but regulators, internal stakeholders, and community members are looking to see substantial emission reductions now. Customers not only expect fleets to have a plan to reduce emissions, but also prove it with verifiable numbers.

With growing pressure for fleets to slash emissions and deploy zero-emission vehicles, can renewable fuels still fit into an organization’s sustainability strategy?

Galileo Technologies Unveils Hydrogen Fueling Solution

Posted by & filed under National.

Galileo Technologies has introduced the H-Patagonia Station, a compact hydrogen fueling station equipped to rapidly fuel vehicles in only three minutes.

The module offers hydrogen compression, storage and fueling for light-duty vehicles or fleets of buses, trucks, new boating inventions or other fuel cell propelled vehicles (FCVs). The new product will have public and private applications as it advances net-zero emissions goals in transportation and drives innovation around FCV technology.

Equipped with two dispensing nozzles for H2 compressed at 35 and 70 MPa, H-Patagonia’s three-minute refueling speed puts hydrogen ahead of other zero-emission options such as electric cars.

 

 

Someone bought the very first new GMC Hummer EV electric pickup truck for $2.5 million

Posted by & filed under National.

Someone just paid $2.5 million for the very first new GMC Hummer EV electric pickup truck to be produced later this year.

It was for a good cause.

In October of last year, GM officially launched its GMC Hummer EV, an all-electric “supertruck” with up to 350 miles of range and a starting price of $80,000.

The vehicle impressed many with a ton of features and decent range for an electric vehicle of this size enabled by GM’s new Ultium battery and drivetrain technology.

GM is bringing the electric pickup truck to production on an aggressive timeline.

They plan to have the first deliveries by the end of the year, but they are starting with a higher-end version of the truck, the Edition 1, with a limited number of trucks available.

It’s not clear how many GM will produce, but the company said it sold out within an hour of taking reservations.

DOE to issue funding opportunity for aviation, advanced biofuels

Posted by & filed under National.

The U.S. Department of Energy on March 10 announced its intent to issue a funding opportunity this spring that aims to accelerate the production of low-carbon aviation fuels, renewable marine fuels, and other advanced biofuels.

According to the DOE, its Bioenergy Technologies Office is focused on applied research, development, demonstration and deployment (RDD&D) to improve the performance and reduce costs of biofuel production technologies and scale-up production systems in partnership with industry in order to reduce risks and pave the way for deployment of commercial-scale integrated biorefineries. The agency said working together on scaling up these emerging technologies will leverage the scientific strength of the agency and its partners and support the creation of construction, skilled trade and engineering jobs that grow an invigorate the bioeconomy.

Volvo VNR Electric Now Eligible for Dozens of Funding, Incentive Programs

Posted by & filed under National.

The Volvo VNR Electric, Volvo Trucks North America’s first commercially available battery-electric Class 8 vehicle, is now eligible for dozens of funding and incentive programs across North America, including up to $120,000 per vehicle from California’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP).

Through point-of-sale vouchers, incentives or rebates, funding programs established are helping make the transition to zero-emission vehicles more cost-effective for fleets of all sizes, operating across every sector.

PERC study analyzes carbon footprint of propane-fueled vehicles

Posted by & filed under National.

The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) released a study analyzing the carbon footprint of medium- and heavy-duty (MD-HD) engine vehicles powered by propane and electricity.

The analysis, “Decarbonization of MD-HD Vehicles with Propane,” says that propane-fueled MD-HD internal combustion engine vehicles provide a lower carbon footprint solution in 38 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., when compared to MD-HD electric vehicles charged using the electrical grid.

The study also reveals that MD-HD vehicles powered by renewable propane provide a lower carbon footprint solution in every U.S. state except Vermont, where electricity is generated by and imported from Canadian hydroelectric power plants, according to PERC.