Ballard Power Systems and MAHLE have agreed to collaborate on the development and commercialization of zero-emission fuel cell systems to provide primary propulsion power in various classes of commercial trucks. MAHLE’s commercial vehicle division supplies a broad range of products to truck and other OEMs, including power cells, valves and... Read more →

US Xpress, Inc., one of the US’ largest asset-based truckload carriers by revenue, released its September industry forecast spotlighting key economic trends and updates specific to the trucking industry. Three key insights include: Rising Driver Turnover. As the economy slowly recovers, freight volumes will rise and drivers will become an... Read more →

Volvo Penta has developed an electric driveline for leading fire service vehicle manufacturer Rosenbauer’s pioneering fire truck, named “Revolutionary Technology” (RT). The truck was officially launched at an event in Austria. The RTs will now be sent to fire departments in Berlin, Amsterdam and Dubai to begin real-world customer testing.... Read more →

Series production of the Mercedes-Benz eActros heavy-duty truck is due to start in 2021 at the Wörth plant, alongside the existing manufacture of trucks with combustion engines. The electric truck models are set to be assembled alongside trucks with conventional drives in a flexible process. The construction of the different... Read more →

Bosch and Weichai Power have increased the efficiency of Weichai truck diesel engines from their current level of roughly 46% to 50%. In increasing the efficiency by four percentage points, we have jointly reached a new milestone. Even though the diesel engine is nearly 130 years old, its development continues.... Read more →

Volvo Trucks North America announced today that third-party supply chain solutions provider NFI began piloting two Volvo VNR Electric trucks as part of the Volvo LIGHTS (Low Impact Green Heavy Transport Solutions) project, becoming the third company to deploy its battery-electric trucks. The Volvo VNR Electric trucks will be integrated... Read more →

PACCAR is collaborating with Faith Technologies and Schneider Electric to provide a charging infrastructure package solution for customers that purchase battery electric Kenworth and Peterbilt heavy- and medium-duty trucks in the United States and Canada. PACCAR electric charger with Kenworth K270E and Peterbilt Model 220EV trucks By leveraging their respective... Read more →

Walmart will electrify and zero-out emissions from all of its vehicles, including long-haul trucks, by 2040, as part of its current goal to become a “regenerative company”. Walmart announced it is targeting zero emissions across the company’s global operations by 2040. Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are also committing to... Read more →

Daimler Trucks unveiled the concept Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck, marking the beginning of a fuel-cell push by Daimler for the long-haul transport segment. The premiere was staged during a presentation at STATION-Berlin of the company’s technology strategy for the electrification of its vehicles, with a focus on the technology for hydrogen-based... Read more →

Volvo Group’s American subsidiary Mack Trucks announced plans to commercialize the Mack LR Electric, its refuse model equipped with a fully electric integrated Mack drivetrain. Orders for the Mack LR Electric will open in Q4 2020, with deliveries beginning in 2021. The production Mack LR Electric model will fulfill the... Read more →

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), in collaboration with the US Department of Defense and the US Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate, has awarded Cummins, Inc. approximately $1 million in federal funds to develop H2Rescue, a hydrogen fuel cell... Read more →

Worldwide, Daimler battery-electric trucks and buses have already logged more than seven million customer kilometers (4.3 million miles). As part of its electrification strategy, Daimler Trucks plans to offer electric vehicles in all its main sales regions by 2022: from the FUSO eCanter in the light-duty segment, the Freightliner eM2... Read more →

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. announced new and extended contracts for more than 20 million gallons of Redeem renewable natural gas (RNG) to accommodate the continued demand across key business segments for the ultra-low carbon fuel produced from organic waste. Alpha Lion, which carries mail for the US Postal Service between... Read more →

Freight operator Dependable Highway Express (DHE) has received two Volvo VNR Electric trucks—the first battery-electric Class 8 trucks to join DHE’s fleet. The electric trucks will be added to DHE’s existing fleet of more than 500 Volvo trucks operating across North America. Deployed as part of the Volvo LIGHTS (Low... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board settled eight diesel cases totaling more than $130,000 for violations of the Truck and Bus Regulation in the Imperial Valley. The Truck and Bus Regulation protects public health by reducing emissions of diesel particulate matter, oxides of nitrogen, and other pollutants from diesel-fueled vehicles. This... Read more →

Clean Energy Fuels Corp., the leading provider of natural gas fuel for transportation in North America, announced that Estes Express Lines will add to its fleet 50 new trucks fueled with Redeem renewable natural gas (RNG), bringing its total to 71. Estes, the nation’s largest privately-owned freight transportation carrier, is... Read more →

Freudenberg Sealing Technologies has launched the development of a special fuel cell system for heavy-duty trucks. The company is collaborating with Quantron AG, a specialist in the field of commercial vehicle conversion. The project’s first fuel cell system will be installed in a heavy-duty truck for real-world testing in the... Read more →

Nikola Corporation and General Motors Co. announced a strategic partnership that begins with the Nikola Badger and carries cost reductions through Nikola’s programs, including: Nikola Badger, Nikola Tre, Nikola One, Nikola Two and NZT. As part of the agreement, Nikola will utilize General Motors’ Ultium battery system and Hydrotec fuel... Read more →

September 2020 marks one year of Daimler Trucks and Torc Robotics partnering as a team after the US based automated driving technology company became part of Daimler Trucks’ Autonomous Technology Group. (Earlier post.) Now, the Autonomous Technology Group will extend its testing to New Mexico by building up a new... Read more →

Volta Trucks, a start-up electric vehicle manufacturer, has revealed the new Volta Zero—its first vehicle and the world’s first purpose-built full-electric 16-tonne commercial vehicle designed specifically for inner-city parcel and freight distribution. The Volta Zero will start undertaking operator trials with some of Europe’s largest parcel delivery and logistics companies... Read more →

ULEMCo, the UK company converting commercial vehicles to run on hydrogen, has commenced the largest single deployment of hydrogen dual fuel vehicles yet. This follows an order secured with Scottish company James A Cuthbertson Ltd, to transform Glasgow City Council’s existing fleet and some new gritters to be hydrogen-enabled. With... Read more →

Ricardo experts in sustainable transport, with colleagues from E4tech and the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg (ifeu), have produced a comprehensive lifecycle assessment (LCA) of road vehicles on behalf of the European Commission. With the shift to new fuels and powertrain electrification it is important to use life-cycle... Read more →

Fortistar and Paloma Dairy have begun construction on a dairy digester renewable natural gas (RNG) facility, the Sunoma Renewable Biofuel Project. The new facility will produce 1.6 million gasoline gallon equivalents (GGE) of vehicle fuel annually for the Class 8 trucking sector—enough fuel to move 10 million miles of freight.... Read more →

New Zealand’s Hiringa Energy and US-based HYZON Motors Inc. have signed a Heads of Agreement that secures access for Hiringa and its fleet partners to the supply of hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered zero-emission Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs). The heavy fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) will be tailored to meet the demanding and unique... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board has approved a multi-pronged regulation that will significantly reduce NOx emissions from heavy-duty diesel trucks. The “Heavy-Duty Low NOx Omnibus Regulation” will require manufacturers to comply with tougher emissions standards, overhaul engine testing procedures, and further extend engine warranties to ensure that emissions of NOx... Read more →

Allison Transmission, the largest global manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty fully automatic transmissions and a supplier of commercial vehicle propulsion solutions, including electric hybrid and fully electric propulsion systems, launched its new zero-emission-vehicle (ZEV)-capable electric hybrid system, the eGen Flex, as the initial product offering under its new Allison eGen... Read more →

Proterra unveiled its newest series of battery packs, the H Series, which offers a customizable energy storage system to power a wide range of heavy-duty commercial vehicles. The new, narrower H Series battery packs were designed to package into standard truck frame rails and increase packaging flexibility for Proterra Powered... Read more →

Hyliion Inc., a provider of electrified powertrain solutions for Class 8 commercial vehicles, and Dana Incorporated, a leader in commercial vehicle drivetrains known for its Spicer Electrified technologies, have launched a national program with Idealease to demonstrate Hyliion’s Hybrid Diesel Powertrain to Idealease customers. Idealease is a North American full-service... Read more →

As the first customer of the second test phase in Germany, DB Schenker has received a battery-electric eActros from the “innovation fleet”. The global logistics services company will use the 25-ton truck for the delivery of general cargo—i.e., palletized goods that are too large and heavy for parcel delivery—in the... Read more →

Anheuser-Busch is transitioning more than 180 trucks—representing approximately 30% of its dedicated fleet—to Renewable Natural Gas (RNG). In 2014 and 2015, Anheuser-Busch converted 160 diesel-fueled trucks in Houston and St. Louis to fleets powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) engines. As the next step to achieve its 2025 sustainability goal... Read more →

Nikola Corporation announced a minimum order of 2,500 electric refuse trucks from Republic Services, expandable up to 5,000. This order is to begin full production deliveries in 2023 with on-road testing likely to begin in early 2022. The refuse trucks are anticipated to carry up to an industry-leading 720 kWh... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board will consider the proposed Heavy-Duty Low NOx Omnibus Regulation on 27 August 2020. The proposed regulation is intended to ensure reductions in smog-forming NOx and protect communities most impacted by air pollution. On-road heavy-duty vehicles are an essential part of the state’s economy. These vehicles... Read more →

On 18 August 2020, $27 million in funding will be available in California to replace higher polluting trucks with zero-emission vehicles. The funding is part of the Volkswagen (VW) Environmental Mitigation Trust program, which is intended to fund projects that will fully mitigate the excess nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions caused... Read more →

New Flyer and Allison Transmission, the largest global manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty fully automatic transmissions and a supplier of commercial vehicle propulsion solutions, including electric hybrid and fully electric propulsion systems, will deliver 50 Allison electric hybrid equipped buses to the largest transit authority in the US, New York... Read more →

by Michael Sivak, Sivak Applied Research. Light-duty vehicles (cars and light trucks) are being purchased primarily by individuals, while heavy trucks by companies. Therefore, an examination of the recent changes in the sales of vehicles in these two classes provides some information about the economic impact (both actual and anticipated)... Read more →

After about a year of intensive practical use by ten customers in Germany and Switzerland, eight of the purely battery-powered Mercedes-Benz eActros trucks are now successively going to new customers in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. They also will put the eActros through its paces in tough everyday transport operations... Read more →

Agility Fuel Solution, a leading global provider of clean fuel solutions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, introduced its new third-generation roof-mount compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel system for Automated Side Loader, Rear End Loader and Front End Loader refuse collection vehicles. Agility introduced its roof-mount CNG fuel systems for... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems announced that its proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell technology and products have now powered Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) in commercial heavy- and medium-duty motive applications for acumulative total of more than 50 million kilometers on roads around the globe, an increase of more than 5-times... Read more →

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) and Germany-based Trailer Dynamics GmbH (Trailer Dynamics) signed a battery supply agreement for a new way to electrify long-haul trucks. According to the agreement, CATL will develop, manufacture, and supply batteries for the Newton eTrailer, which will launch in 2023 to promote sustainable road... Read more →

Southern California Edison has set fleet electrification goals for 2030: 100% of its light-duty vehicles, 30% of medium-duty vehicles, 8% of heavy-duty vehicles, and 60% of forklifts. SCE estimates that in pursuing its 2030 fleet electrification goals, it will save more than 620,000 gallons of fuel annually and eliminate close... Read more →

More than 14 tonnes of CO2 was saved in a two-year trial involving just 11 urban trucks and vans running on green hydrogen dual fuel. That is one result of the Low Emission Freight and Logistics Trial (LEFT) project to investigate the practical deployment of hydrogen powered vehicles in the... Read more →

BAE Systems has been awarded a $32-million prototype agreement by the US Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) to integrate a Hybrid Electric Drive (HED) system onto a Bradley Fighting Vehicle—a tracked vehicle. The development program is part of the Army’s effort to increase vehicle efficiency and boost... Read more →

Power management company Eaton said it is a key contributor and supporter of the National Zero-Emission Truck (ZET) Coalition’s newly issued priority federal recommendations. Eaton’s new 4-speed transmission for heavy-duty electric commercial vehicles is the latest addition to its growing eMobility portfolio of electrified vehicle (EV) transmissions. The ZET Coalition,... Read more →

Fifteen states and the District of Columbia announced a joint memorandum of understanding (MOU), committing to work collaboratively to advance and accelerate the market for electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, including large pickup trucks and vans, delivery trucks, box trucks, school and transit buses, and long-haul delivery trucks (big-rigs). The... Read more →

Hiringa Energy and TR Group have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to offer heavy fuel cell electric trucks for the New Zealand market powered by Hiringa’s nation-wide hydrogen refueling network, and TR’s heavy fleet lease, rental, and maintenance management expertise. The companies will offer fuel-inclusive lease packages that offer... Read more →

Freight carrier the Delanchy Group, which has been using a 100% electric Renault Trucks D prototype since 2017, has received the first D Z.E. series model. (Earlier post.) Renault Trucks and the Delanchy Group have been working together for more than fifty years. Since 2017, the Delanchy Group has been... Read more →

PowerCell Sweden AB will participate in an EU project that will develop and operate a refuse truck with fuel cells for Renova AB, western Sweden’s leading environmental enterprise within recycling and waste management. Renova’s end customer, the City of Gothenburg, wants to increase testing of fuel-cell-powered refuse trucks. The truck... Read more →

The EU could slash truck carbon pollution by more than a fifth (22%) in a decade by requiring its main cities to have electric truck charging infrastructure, according to a new study released by European environmental NGO Transport & Environment (T&E). The analysis by T&E’s Lucien Mathieu of truck flows... Read more →

Orange EV and McLane Company, Inc., announced the deployment of Orange EV T-Series pure-electric terminal trucks to the McLane Foodservice distribution center in Riverside, California. Deploying heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles furthers McLane’s Green Advantage initiatives to reduce the company’s environmental impact. McLane’s pure-electric yard trucks (aka terminal trucks, hostlers, spotters) are... Read more →

Chevron is partnering with California natural gas retailer Clean Energy Fuels Corp. on Adopt-a-Port, an initiative that provides truck operators serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach with cleaner, carbon-negative renewable natural gas (RNG) to reduce emissions. For its part, Chevron will provide funding for Adopt-a-Port and supply... Read more →