Ultra Clean Diesel Offers Even Lower Emissions

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REG Ultra Clean Diesel — a blend of renewable diesel and biodiesel — is now available for bulk purchase near Portland, Ore. The oil, developed by Renewable Energy Group, is available for purchase at Bretthauer Oil cardlock sites in Hillsboro and McMinnville, and emits fewer emissions than conventional diesel, renewable diesel, or biodiesel, according to a Bretthauer release.

Washington County, Ore., has committed as the first customer to purchase REG Ultra Clean Diesel from Bretthauer Oil.

“Using REG Ultra Clean Diesel will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and particulate matter and make our engines run cleaner and, in turn, more efficiently,” said Tom Keyser, CFFA/CAFS, fleet manager for Washington County.

REG Ultra Clean Diesel is a patent-pending blend of renewable diesel and biodiesel that significantly reduces tailpipe emissions and has performance advantages compared to conventional diesel. By combining the increased cetane of renewable diesel with the increased lubricity and more complete combustion of biodiesel, REG Ultra Clean Diesel offers improved combustion quality, reduced engine wear, and more reliable operation year-round compared to conventional diesel, Bretthauer stated.

US court declines to review EPA’s refusal to account for small refinery exemptions

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The US Court of Appeals for the DC District has declined to review the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) refusal to account for its flood of retroactive small refinery exemptions (SREs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

An appeal made by the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) was ‘dismissed on technical grounds’, according to the biodiesel association. NBB challenged the EPA’s decision to continue ignoring SREs granted after the annual rule is established.

The US Court of Appeals dismissed the petition from the NBB on the grounds that the biofuel industry did not comment on the topic and provide the EPA with sufficient opportunity to address those comments. It has, however, left room for future challenges on the issue.

“The Court’s decision is frustrating,” commented NBB vice-president of federal affairs Kurt Kovarik. “EPA requested comment on its practice of ignoring retroactive small refinery exemptions but did not give notice of its intent to unleash a flood of the exemptions. The court, however, faults the industry for not commenting specifically on that.

“EPA’s flood of retroactive small refinery exemptions are causing severe economic harm to biodiesel and renewable diesel producers, forcing some to close their doors and lay off workers. It’s disappointing that the court did not take this opportunity to address that harm.”

 

FUTURE OF ETHANOL EXPORTS

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EXPORTS OF U.S. ETHANOL COULD HIT A RECORD 4 BILLION GALLONS A YEAR IN 2022.

Exports of U.S. ethanol could set another record this year, according to Mike Dwyer, chief economist for the U.S. Grains Council.

U.S. ethanol exports during the current marketing year that ends August 31, 2019, are on track to hit between 1.8 billion gallons and 2 billion gallons, Dwyer predicts. If achieved, that amount of ethanol exports would top the current record of 1.62 billion gallons set during the marketing year that ended August 31, 2018. During that 12-month period, U.S. ethanol was exported to 74 countries, according to the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.

The U.S. Grains Council and its ethanol export market development partners – the Renewable Fuels Association and Growth Energy – have set a goal of boosting U.S. ethanol exports to 4 billion gallons a year by 2022, Dwyer states. The Grains Council believes that by 2022, 75% of U.S. ethanol exports will go to six countries: China, India, Japan, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico.

Electric Ford F-150 Could Be Here as Early as 2021

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As Ford prepares to get the electric version of its top seller out on the streets, it’s working on educating the public about EVs.

Ford has never explicitly stated when its upcoming all-electric F-150 will actually debut, but the tea leaves are coming together to suggest that 2021 is going to be the year America’s best-selling vehicle finally gets its zero-emission powertrain.

The latest indicator comes from Ted Cannis, Ford’s global director for electrification, who said in a recent interview with Automotive News Canada that the electric F-150 will follow the Mach E, a Mustang-inspired electric crossover that is going to be introduced in 2020. The electric truck is supposed to follow “as soon as a year later,” which takes us to the 2021 date. All a Ford spokesperson would tell Car and Driver is that the all-electric F-150 will arrive “in a few years” and that we will have to keep waiting for an announcement about specific timing.

Perhaps the EV version of the biggest-selling vehicle on the market will help consumers get a handle on what, exactly, electric vehicles are all about; Ford says its studies show 42 percent of Americans think electric vehicles need gasoline to run. In other words, there’s some educating still to do, despite the increased numbers of electric vehicles on the market and all the media attention being lavished on them.

Whenever it gets here, the electric F-150 will arrive a full decade after the first mass-market EV, the Nissan Leaf, which debuted in 2010. Ford did play in the small-electric-car waters for a bit with the Focus Electric, but overall the automaker hasn’t exactly dominated the EV landscape. Cannis’s renewed media push this week (he also wrote a post on Medium describing how Ford is going to solve the EV puzzle) implies the company is ready to change that narrative. “Who says electric vehicles can’t drive in snow?” is one of the “EV Myths Busted” videos the automaker released this week.

CALSTART Launches Effort for Autonomous, Zero-Emission Transit Vehicles

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CALSTART is launching a project to explore new automated vehicle technologies aimed at boosting transit ridership, cutting traffic and congestion, and reducing emissions.

The project’s ultimate goal is to support the development of a next-generation zero-emission autonomous transit vehicle.

CALSTART, a clean transportation accelerator with offices and member companies across the nation, will establish a coalition of at least 10 transit agencies to inform the process. The agencies – of varying sizes and complexities representing diverse communities – will be asked to provide strategic guidance to develop specifications for the vehicle. Agencies will create a wish list of attributes to meet their performance and funding needs.

We are excited about the opportunity to work with leading transit properties and identify how vehicle automation could be used to actually increase transit ridership and reduce the number of cars on the road. We also want to work with our member companies to be global leaders in this technology,” says John Boesel, president and CEO of CALSTART.

Renewable Hydrogen Said ‘Compatible Complement’ to RNG

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RNG Coalition spokesman Marcus Gillette said the trade association views renewable hydrogen as a “compatible complement” to RNG, which is derived from organic waste. “All clean, renewably derived gas substitutes from fossil fuel deserve and have a place in our clean energy future.”

As SoCalGas faces the prospect of increasing electrification, it has been pushing policymakers to recognize that renewably derived fossil fuels should be part of a balanced energy approach. California has some of the nation’s most aggressive policies to decarbonize the economy with renewable sources.

In the natural gas vehicle (NGV) sector, NGVAmerica President Daniel Gage told NGI that hydrogen and RNG can work together.

“It can be injected into the natural gas distribution system like RNG and provides another way to lower the carbon intensity of the common NGV fuels,” which are compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas.

“The natural gas distribution system is a wonderfully efficient and affordable way to store and transfer vehicle fuel as opposed to batteries that remain an expensive and technologically limited option” when compared to methane and hydrogen applications, Gage added.

XL Celebrates 100M Electrified Customer Miles

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XL customers have driven 100 million miles using the company’s hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric drive systems, according to the company, which is also celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

Since 2009, XL has electrified the fleets of some of the largest and most recognized companies, municipalities and organizations in North America. One of XL’s first customers, Coca-Cola, has deployed nearly 300 hybrid-electric GMC Chevrolet Express vans since 2012.

XL recently examined the data from the first 10 Coca-Cola vehicles deployed between 2012 and 2013.  The vehicles are still on the road today and have driven an average of 150,000 miles each — one van has more than 215,000 miles — with an average fuel-economy improvement of 20.2% over their lifetime.

Tony Eiermann, the fleet manager for Coca-Cola at the time of the original XL vehicle deployment, is now vice president of fleet management at Bennett International Group.

“We chose the XL hybrid solution because it supported Coca-Cola’s strong commitment to reducing its carbon footprint, without sacrificing the performance that was needed from those vehicles,” Eiermann said recently. “The XL vans delivered those savings as promised, and the fact that they’re still on the road speaks to the reliability and longevity of their systems.”

Mercedes-Benz EQV electric van debuts with 250-mile range

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After revealing a thinly veiled EQV concept at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz on Tuesday took the wraps off the latest addition to its EQ sub-brand in the production EQV electric van.

The German luxury marque revealed the EQV online ahead of its global debut at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show next month, and it packs a lot of the tech we expected it would. It’s mostly a battery-electric version of the standard V-Class, and the company plans to build it in Spain alongside its fossil-fuel-sipping cousin. Thus, the design is pretty familiar, but the EQV wears a face we’ve become familiar with.

Like the EQC crossover SUV and the EQA concept, the EQV features a black “radiator grille” with a chrome strip that sweeps in front of the headlights. The EQ brand face looks at home on the van, but at the rear, it’s very much a V-Class. The five-spoke wheels also recall other EQ electric vehicles and are nearly identical to the EQV concept’s save for the bright aqua accents. Overall, it’s about as attractive as a people-hauling van needs to look.

Under the metal is an electric powertrain situated at the front of the EQV made up of an electric motor, cooling systems and a fixed-gear transmission. The lithium-ion battery that motivates the EQV is under the floor to save on cargo space. Total, drivers will have 201 horsepower at their disposal and the 90-kWh lithium-ion battery will provide an estimated range of 250 miles. Like so many European estimates, it’s important to note the range is based on WLTP standards, which are more liberal than EPA estimates. Mercedes-Benz didn’t say how long it will take to charge the van on a standard socket or its 11-kW charging box, but DC fast charging will juice the battery to 80% in under 45 minutes.

 

Plug Power fuel cells power more than just warehouse forklifts

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The American company has showed off one of its newest fuel cell projects.

The manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cell systems has revealed that its Plug Power fuel cells have been used for months at Albany International Airport to power FedEx airport ground equipment trucks.

The trucks have managed to survive both freezing and hot temperatures.

The FedEx airport ground equipment trucks, which are known as tuggers, have been tested for months and have successfully survived temperatures as cold as 4 degrees Fahrenheit and temperatures as hot as 90 degrees Fahrenheit, reports Albany Business Review.

The challenge the company now faces is to get its Plug Power fuel cells engines for airport ground equipment to market. If it manages to achieve this goal, the company will further diversify its products and move beyond its primary market, which is designing and producing fuel cell engines for forklifts in warehouses.

The company is working with Charlatte America on the current project. Charlatte America is a member of the Fayat Group and is a big manufacturer of battery-powered electric airport ground support equipment. They were responsible for building the ground support vehicles that operate on Plug Power’s zero-emission hydrogen-powered engines.

The FedEx tuggers that run on Plug Power fuel cells can tow up to 40,000 pounds.

Quiet launch: Daimler builds first electric heavy-duty semis for fleet test

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Tesla might have been the first to generate a lot of fanfare over an all-electric Semi, but it’s not the first to actually place an electric Semi with customers for full-time use.

That nod would go to Daimler Trucks North America. The initial two Freightliner eCascadia semis were built this week for its Electric Innovation Fleet—funded by a $16 million California grant—and they’ll be placed into duty later this month by the Southern California operations of two companies: Penske Truck Leasing and NFI.

The company’s intent is to test how the trucks fare in large-scale fleet conditions, and the innovation fleet “will inform the final production versions” of its two upcoming electric trucks, the eCascadia, and the medium-duty Freightliner eM2. Daimler also has an Electric Vehicle Council of 38 customers “to identify and address all potential hurdles to large-scale deployment of commercial battery electric vehicles.”