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.

Clean Cities plays role in autogas market development

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On her very first day with Alliance AutoGas, Jessica Johnson traveled 130 miles, from North Carolina to Tennessee, for a Clean Cities event.

Alliance AutoGas had been participating in a vehicle demonstration program, giving local businesses a way to explore and consider propane-fueled vehicles for their fleets. That day four years ago, the company demonstrated a propane-fueled Ford Transit van, a Ford F-150 and an Explorer Interceptor for fleet decision-makers.

“It’s all about education with autogas, and that’s really what the foundation is with the Clean Cities folks,” Johnson says. “They need us to help educate the community, and we’re always willing to do that.”

Bioenergy, biofuels account for nearly half of US renewables use

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Wood and waste energy accounted for nearly one-fourth of U.S. renewable energy use in 2019, while biofuels accounted for 20 percent of renewable energy consumption, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Oct. 19.

According to the EIA, the U.S. consumed a record amount of renewable energy in 2019, at 11.5 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu), or 11 percent of total U.S. energy consumption.

Hydrogen: Truly Green Power

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If you’re not muddled enough yet in the alternative fuels debate, here’s the skinny on hydrogen. It’s an alternative to batteries that can offer faster “fueling” times, along with a lighter and more compact storage medium. It can be stored indefinitely with zero energy loss (provided the tank doesn’t leak). It’s safer than many people imagine (it doesn’t burn for days like lithium-ion batteries can). It can be harvested conveniently from renewable sources such as wind or solar, either on-site where it’s used (usually through engineered electrolysis) or at commercial-scale production facilities (steam-methane reforming) and transported to where it’s used, often without gobs of bricks-and-mortar infrastructure.

Once onboard the truck, the gaseous hydrogen enters the fuel cell, where it’s recombined with oxygen drawn from ambient air and flowed over a catalyst-lined membrane.

“It’s an electrochemical transaction, the reaction that produces an electron,” explains Ben Nyland, president and CEO of fuel cell maker Loop Energy. “A fuel cell basically makes that electrochemical reaction happen, and captures the electrons that result from it and feeds those out in the same way a battery would to power the motors.”

RNG: The Energy Source No One’s Talking About

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We have a problem with methane. It’s a highly potent greenhouse gas – much more potent than carbon dioxide, the gas we’re falling all over ourselves trying to eliminate from the transportation waste stream.

The Environmental Protection Agency, the California Air Resources Board and others peg methane released by the biological decomposition of organic materials at 30 to 60 times more potent than CO2 when vented to atmosphere.

One solution is using methane to fuel vehicles. Using it as fuel also replaces other carbon-based fuels that produce their own share of hydrocarbon emissions. It’s renewable, and it’s plentiful.

Kenworth Launches the T680E Class 8 Truck

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Kenworth has launched the Kenworth T680E –  the company’s first-ever, Class 8 battery-electric model. The new zero-emission Kenworth T680E, now available for order from Kenworth dealers in the U.S. and Canada, will enter production in 2021.

“The Kenworth T680E launch is an exciting, pioneering moment that builds upon Kenworth’s history of providing fleets and truck operators with outstanding and productive trucks driven by quality, innovation and technology,” says Kevin Baney, general manager and PACCAR vice president. “The new Kenworth T680E provides our customers with a true, zero-emissions solution that will help to achieve their own green program objectives while leveraging the excellent performance, reliability and cab comfort of our current T680 on-highway flagship model.”

WPGA Announces Featured Speakers for Nation’s First Renewable Propane Conference

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On November 4th, the Western Propane Gas Association (WPGA) will virtually host the Path to Renewable Propane conference, the first event of its kind in the U.S. that is uniquely focused on propane derived from sustainable sources.

Companies, legislators, and regulatory agencies are all pushing innovations that will reduce the carbon footprint for both the transportation and building sector. To support these efforts, WPGA has set forth efforts to accelerate the commercialization of renewable propane in California. Join WPGA at the Path to Renewable Propane virtual conference, which will address the next evolution of industry to deliver on decarbonization targets in these markets.