Shell - yes, the oil and gas conglomerate - is taking part in that growth. “Get EV infrastructure done” was a rallying cry at this year’s show, recognizing that the footprint of charging stations needs to grow by a multiple of seven. Fleet managers will first need to exhaust grant opportunities, understand power needs, set up charging infrastructure, and figure out new software systems to manage all of it. Owners of the lifecycle can make money in each phase, and in turn offer a lower-priced vehicle lease in the first life, he said.įor fleets looking to electrify, the tough decisions begin well before acquiring the vehicle. One solution is to monetize the entire lifecycle of the battery - from its first life in the vehicle, to a second life as a stationary power source, to the recycling process of extracting precious metals. The Power Cube could be a second-life home for batteries from electric vehicles. In addition to the van and a modular chassis for various applications, Blue Arc is marketing Power Cube, a mobile EV charger that can charge up to 30 vehicles a day. “Battery prices aren’t coming down that much, so other things need to change,” Beach told me.Įric Fisher of Blue Arc EV Solutions, a new division of Shyft Group, exits the company’s new Class 3 delivery walk-in van. He's not counting on solid-state batteries as the big breakthrough to escalate EV adoption. In addition to price increases, advancements in battery capacity have slowed, said Paul Beach, president of Octillion Power Systems, a global supplier of EV battery packs for cars, trucks, buses, and energy-storage systems. Add new uncertainties to the mix - supply chain disruptions and rising raw material costs are driving battery prices up after a decade of declines. They never had to make these tough decisions with ICE vehicles, as the technology and the automakers were proven. Of course, this only makes fleet managers’ jobs that much more difficult. Some independents own their supply chains while some incumbents are outsourcing to rush EVs to market. There are independent makers building their own battery systems with the efficiency and energy density that rival or even surpass the technology of the majors. Should fleets looking to electrify take a chance on an independent OEM? The incumbents have a built-in advantage when it comes to funding, production capacity, sales footprint, timelines to market, and ability to service the vehicles.īut when it comes to vehicle engineering, my take has evolved: I’m not necessarily defaulting to the incumbent OEMs as the better choice, every time. Throw in another handful (at least) for Class 7 and 8. By my unofficial count, there are now at least two dozen independent manufacturers of EVs looking to serve the Class 2b to Class 6 market - substantially eclipsing the incumbent OEMs in the ICE market. Walking this year’s show floor, it felt like the Gold Rush for commercial electric vehicles. BrightDrop is planning to produce 50,000 units by 2025 - a production run that will move markets with its sheer size. In this fast-moving river, five years ago feels like the Dark Ages.īrightDrop’s Steve Hornyak (left) and Brad Beauchamp stand in front of the Zevo 600 delivery van, which is already in FedEx fleets, with wider deliveries by the fourth quarter of 2023. “We’re an electric show this year,” said Erik Neandross, ACT Expo producer and CEO of Gladstein Neandross & Associates, to open the 2018 show. Since then, while some of those alt-fuel vendors still exhibit, the show has pivoted with the market to electrification. Remembering my first ACT Expo some 11 years ago, the spartan show floor was filled with suppliers of compressed and liquified (CNG/LNG), propane, and other biofuels. The growth of the ACT Expo mirrors - to a large extent - the growth of “Advanced Clean Transportation” in the commercial vehicle industry. With a record 8,000 attendees, the trade event has outgrown its environs and will move to the Orange County Convention Center for 2023. This was the final year the ACT Expo convened at the Long Beach Convention Center south of Los Angeles. Blue Bird joins a group of at least two dozen OEMs serving the commercial electric vehicle market. On May 10 at the 2022 Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo, school bus manufacturer Blue Bird unveiled a new electric platform for Class 5-6 vehicles.
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