National Biodiesel Board Elects New Governing Board Virtually

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JEFFERSON CITY, MO – The National Biodiesel Board members met virtually this week to elect new Governing Board leaders from across the biodiesel and renewable diesel value chain. NBB’s new leadership will help the development and success of the industry, reflecting the member-driven and member-focused values of the trade association.

“As the national trade association for the biodiesel and renewable diesel industry, it is critical that we are led by a strong team of advocates from all sectors of the industry,” said NBB CEO Donnell Rehagen. “As we see consumers and policymakers leading the shift to cleaner transportation and heating fuels, NBB’s Governing Board will continue to play a critical role in our goal to double our production and become a 6 billion gallon a year industry by 2030.”

PowerTap, Cryotek Partner on Hydrogen Filling Stations

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Clean Power Capital Corp.’s 90% owned subsidiary – PowerTap Hydrogen Fueling Corp. – has partnered with Cryotek pursuant to an eight-month contract to provide engineering and design for the next-generation PowerTap hydrogen filling stations, which are planned to be deployed across North America starting in 2021.

“PowerTap is excited to work with Cryotek as our engineering and design partner to commercialize the next generation of PowerTap hydrogen filling stations,” says Raghu Kilambi, CEO of PowerTap Hydrogen Fueling Corp. “Cody Bateman and his engineering team are the ideal partner for PowerTap as we plan our aggressive rollout of hydrogen filling stations commencing in 2021.”

2021 National Ethanol Conference Shifts to Digital

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The Renewable Fuels Association announced today that the 26th annual National Ethanol Conference to be held February 16-18, 2021 will now be an all virtual format.

“As RFA prepares to enter its 40th year in operation in 2021, the upcoming NEC will hold special meaning for our organization and the entire industry,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led us to adopt a fully digital format, we are confident the NEC will continue to serve as the largest and most visionary ethanol policy and marketing event for industry leaders and stakeholders. This is a critical time for our nation’s ethanol industry, which faces a changing political landscape, regulatory challenges, and uncertainty in the marketplace. But it is also a time of incredible opportunity for low-carbon renewable fuels, and NEC will serve as an excellent forum for exploring the strategies and approaches that will facilitate continued success for our essential industry in the future.”

Top Five Reasons Propane is Proven for Clean Transportation

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For four decades, propane autogas has been a proven fuel of choice for fleets of all sizes. From coast to coast, fleets have selected propane autogas as the energy solution to lower operating costs and clean up communities with reduced emissions. Every day, over 50,000 propane-powered commercial fleet vehicles are on the road in the United States, and more than 1.2 million students ride to school and home on a propane autogas school bus.

But there are more benefits to propane autogas than just reduced operating costs and emissions. Combine that with the fuel’s reliability, performance, and innovation, and propane autogas is an ideal energy source for now and well into the future. School transportation departments, private contractors, and businesses are choosing propane autogas for these top five reasons and more.

Electrify America Unveils Plug&Charge Payment Technology

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Electrify America says its fast-charging network now offers an innovative payment technology called Plug&Charge, which allows electric vehicle (EV) owners to begin a charge without having to use their wallets, smartphones or bank cards.

After a brief online registration, drivers can automatically pay for charging by simply plugging in their EV. The charger communicates with the vehicle to identify, authenticate, authorize and bill the customer’s registered account for the charging session. The entire process allows for a seamless charging experience for the customer.

Road Ranger Fleet Refuels With One-Millionth Gallon of Autogas

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Since 1961, Roy Jorgensen Associates has provided maintenance consultant services, facility maintenance operations and roadway maintenance services throughout the U.S. One of the roadway programs Jorgensen oversees is the Road Ranger Service Patrol Fleet.

The Road Ranger fleet provides incident management response services and limited no-cost highway assistance to motorists to improve highway safety for emergency responders and the motoring public. In 2015, Jorgensen collaborated with Alliance AutoGas (AAG), an international network that provides propane autogas solutions to light-, medium- and heavy-duty fleets, to begin a pilot propane autogas program.

Ford reveals E-Transit, its electric commercial van

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American auto giant Ford took the wraps off an electric vehicle Thursday morning that launches the company squarely into the growing movement to electrify fleets and last-mile delivery in cities.

The E-Transit cargo van is an electric version of its already-popular cargo van — Ford sells 150,000 of the model per year. The E-Transit van will be available starting in late 2021, will cost “less than $45,000” and will have a range of 126 miles. It’ll also have a feature that can turn the van’s battery into an onboard generator that can power tools such as belt sanders. Additionally, to ensure the security of your van and its contents, consider installing van immobilisers for added protection against theft.

While the range might sound downright weak — in comparison, Ford’s Mustang Mach-E is designed with a 300-mile battery range — Ford Global Director of Electrification Mark Kaufman said in an interview that Ford designed the vehicle based on real-world data collected from customers about the average fleet route in cities. “The average range for Transit customers today is 74 miles. We worked with 30 million miles of fleet telematics data to find where the best balance point is,” Kaufman said.

Cummins, Navistar to Develop Fuel-Cell Class 8 Truck

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Cummins and Navistar announced they will work together to develop a Class 8 electric truck powered by hydrogen fuel cells, to be tested in the real world by Werner Enterprises.

The project will be funded in part through an award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy previously announced in August, as part of DOE’s H2@Scale initiative to develop affordable hydrogen production, storage, distribution and use.

“This vehicle will feature our next-generation fuel cell configuration and provides a springboard for us to advance our hydrogen technology for line haul trucks,” said Amy Davis, vice president and president of New Power at Cummins. “We are also excited to build on our strong relationship with Navistar, which dates back 80 years, and work together to lower costs and make hydrogen-powered vehicles more accessible for fleets to adopt.”

Making biodiesel from dirty old cooking oil just got way easier

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Researchers have developed a powerful, low-cost method for recycling used cooking oil and agricultural waste into biodiesel, and turning food scraps and plastic rubbish into high-value products.

The method harnesses a new type of ultra-efficient catalyst that can make low-carbon biodiesel and other valuable complex molecules out of diverse, impure raw materials.

Waste cooking oil currently has to go through an energy-intensive cleaning process to be used in biodiesel, because commercial production methods can only handle pure feedstocks with 1-2 percent contaminants.

GM’s Cruise, Walmart Team Up for Driverless Delivery

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Walmart Inc. is about to team up with Cruise, the self-driving car unit majority-owned by General Motors Co., to experiment with delivering customer orders using driverless vehicles.

Cruise’s robot-piloted cars will ferry orders to customers’ homes from a Walmart store in Scottsdale, Ariz., starting early 2021, Tom Ward, the retailer’s senior vice president of customer product, said in a Nov. 10 blog post.

The pilot program — which may be expanded — marks a big step for both companies. Walmart is fighting for market share with rival retail giant Amazon.com Inc., which recently bought self-driving vehicle startup Zoox Inc. For GM’s Cruise unit, the partnership provides a pathway into potentially lucrative delivery services distinct from its primary focus on ridesharing robotaxis.