Daimler Trucks, Waymo Team up to Tackle Autonomous Trucking

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Daimler Trucks and Waymo are combining their expertise to advance the development of SAE Level 4 autonomous truck technology. The two companies have initiated a global strategic partnership that will combine Waymo’s automated driver technology with a unique version of Daimler’s Freightliner Cascadia.

The two companies say they share the common goal of improving road safety and efficiency for fleet customers. The autonomous Cascadia, equipped with Waymo’s advanced AI driving system, the Waymo Driver, will be available to customers in the U.S. in the coming years. Waymo and Daimler Trucks will also investigate expansion to other markets, including Europe, in the near future.

Martin Daum, chairman of the board of management at Daimler Truck AG, said the strategic partnership with Waymo is an important step toward bringing production versions of highly automated trucks to the road.

Why the next truck you see may be a quiet, zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell rig

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Sick of the road noise and pollution caused by semitrucks barreling down the road near your house?

They could soon be harder to hear, and healthier for you and for the planet.

The 3.7 million heavy-duty trucks that ship goods to consumers, haul raw materials across the country and transport components for manufacturers have long been powered by diesel engines that emit pollution and create significant road noise.

But an ambitious startup and several established automakers are promising to deliver hydrogen-powered semitrucks that would create zero harmful pollutants, emitting only water vapor, and no engine noise but for the whirl of an electric motor.

The bottom line? Living next to a highway with trucks could eventually become a much more pleasant experience – but only if the promise of hydrogen fuel cells finally pays off after decades of development.

Brightmark Partners with New York Dairy Farms to Produce Renewable Natural Gas from Cow Manure

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Brightmark, the global waste solutions provider, today announced that it has partnered with three New York dairy farms on the Helios Project, the latest in a series of renewable natural gas (RNG) projects the company has launched over the past two years. The project is part of the recently announced joint venture Brightmark RNG Holdings LLC, a Brightmark platform in partnership with Chevron U.S.A. Inc.

Gardeau Crest Farms located in Western New York and Lawnhurst Farms and Willet Dairy, located in New York’s Finger Lakes Region, have each signed supply agreements with Brightmark indicating their intent to provide the company with dairy manure from their herds that will serve as feedstock for the three existing anaerobic digesters on the farms. The digesters will capture, extract, and clean the methane in the manure, then convert it into RNG and inject it into a nearby gas pipeline for distribution.

A green future

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Although fossil fuels have been an essential energy source for many centuries, they come with many disadvantages that do more harm than good in the long run. Algae biofuels may be the future of alternative, renewable energy resources.

Still relatively new to the research and energy industry, algae biofuels have the potential to produce a lot of energy while being sustainable and beneficial for the environment. Algae are microorganisms that grow in aquatic environments and undergo photosynthesis to create biomass.

Aemetis Begins Production of Dairy Biogas

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Aemetis Inc., an advanced renewable fuel and biochemicals company, says it is producing dairy biogas from the first two dairies in a 17 dairy digester biogas project.

The below-zero carbon-intensity gas is initially being utilized for the production of fuel ethanol at the Aemetis Advanced Fuels Keyes facility in Keyes, Calif. Aemetis also produces high-grade sanitizer alcohol and various feed products at its Keyes facility.

“In just over one year, Aemetis has built and commissioned two dairy digesters and four miles of private pipeline that is now producing below-zero carbon intensity biogas used in the production of transportation fuel,” says Eric McAfee, chairman and CEO of Aemetis. “We are pleased with the rapid scale-up of our dairy methane to renewable natural gas (RNG) project and rapid progress toward producing large volumes of RNG for transportation fuel. With the addition of 15 more dairy digesters, gas upgrading, utility interconnection and dispensing RNG to truck fleets, Aemetis is well-positioned to capitalize on the large below-zero carbon transportation market.”

Local green energy movements are a key battleground for propane

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This industry celebrates its 110th anniversary this year. During this journey, we have seen a variety of ways in which this versatile fuel can be used.

A unique and attractive aspect of propane is that it is, relative to diesel and gasoline, a more environmentally friendly fuel. Its use results in lower carbon emissions due to its lower carbon content. In this day and age of heightened discussion and awareness of these issues in the general populous, this advantage provides great opportunities to expand the footprint of propane as a fuel source.

Auto emissions are the single largest source of greenhouse gases in the U.S. Argonne National Laboratory estimates converting a vehicle from conventional fuels to propane could lead to a 10 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions – a significant advantage that consumers should know. They should also understand these aspects of propane’s environmental profile:

Plan Early for Electric-Vehicle Charging Infrastructure

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Electric trucks promise benefits as diverse as lower emissions and a quiet ride. But fleets looking at the equipment might want to research the related charging infrastructure long before trucks roll off an assembly line, said speakers during an online panel discussion hosted by the American Trucking Associations during its virtual annual meeting.

“You can’t say ‘get started early’ enough,” said Jim O’Leary, vice president of fleet services for NFI, which has been working with both Freightliner and Volvo in electric-truck pilot programs.

He admits that he took charging needs for granted when first exploring electric trucks a couple of years ago.

Unlike the choice of traditional diesel-powered equipment, this work involves fleet personnel who traditionally deal with real estate issues, and contracts that refer to everything from load management to smart charging strategies.

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ROUSH CleanTech Begins Production of Gen 5 Propane Fuel System

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ROUSH CleanTech began production of its Gen 5 propane autogas fuel system in Sept. 2020. The company’s innovative propane autogas technology integrates Ford’s new 7.3L V8 engine in Class 3-7 chassis.

Ford’s new 7.3L engine is compact, durable, and easy to maintain. It is narrower than the previous 6.8L, allowing it to fit into multiple vehicle chassis and be serviced with similar automotive parts across each chassis. Innovations for the Gen 5 propane fuel system include stronger and lighter forged fuel rails and a support bracket that keeps the engine fuel distribution well organized.

The engine is designed to meet current and future emissions requirements. ROUSH CleanTech’s Gen 5 is certified to California Air Resources Board’s optional low nitrogen oxide emissions standard of 0.05 grams per brake horsepower-hour (g/bhp-hr). The Gen 5 system reduces greenhouse gas emissions, which helps optimize fuel efficiency, and can operate on renewable propane, which further reduces emissions and carbon intensity values.

More refineries switch to biofuel production as oil demand slumps

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European and US refineries face closure threats due to falling fuel demand – prompting some to produce biofuels instead.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit global demand and the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that by 2030 around 14% of current refining capacity in advanced economies “faces the risk of lower utilisation or closure”.

Shutting down refineries is a costly process so some owners are switching to cleaner biofuels by processing vegetable oil and waste oils.

 

Coming Together on National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day

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Hydrogen – the lightest element and first on the Periodic Table – has a lot of reasons to celebrate. Not only is hydrogen increasingly being utilized as a fuel in zero-emission fuel cell vehicles, it is helping provide resilient power to communities, continuous operation to critical networks, the potential for large-scale energy storage, and pathways to decarbonize energy intensive industries.

For the past six years, the fuel cell and hydrogen industry, its allies, stakeholders, and policymaker champions have given this energy powerhouse its due through the celebration of National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day. This day, October 8 (10.08), was selected in recognition of hydrogen’s atomic weight (1.008).

The Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA) spearheads this annual event marking the upward growth and outward breadth of the industry by raising awareness of the benefits hydrogen provides in increasing energy, environmental, and economic security around the world.