Comments from those in attendance were very positive:
“Bridging the gap between the energy grid and mobility is the next step in enabling mass electric vehicle adoption. The Mobility House’s leadership in vehicle-to-grid integration has demonstrated we can not only offset the influx of charging demands on the grid but also use the stored energy in these vehicles to stabilize power supplies” says Rajiv Singhal, director of business development at The Mobility House.
He further commented, “The ACT Expo is an exciting opportunity to join fellow champions of clean mobility and showcase the technologies fleet owners and operators can utilize today to support their transition to electric transportation. Creating a healthier planet is a collective action, and taking part in the ACT Expo is a way for The Mobility House to educate the transportation industry on how cleaner alternatives not only help the environment but also deliver significant operational savings.”
Loop Energy
“As the first major trade show that Loop Energy is exhibiting at in over two years, ACT Expo 2021 has vastly exceeded our expectations, proving to be an important and effective avenue to engage with customers and industry partners. In addition to showcasing the latest in Loop Energy’s advanced hydrogen fuel cell technology, we also engaged in many in-depth conversations with industry leaders and key stakeholders to discuss the pathways to propelling hydrogen adoption across different sectors.”
“In addition to meeting many prospective customers in person, we also discovered a high level of interest from parts suppliers and equipment manufacturers who are eager to be part of Loop Energy’s Total Customer Care Program — a qualified and trusted circle of ecosystem partners that offer customers a more seamless and integrated solution. We are excited by the level of knowledge and discussion we have engaged in at our exhibit — a promising sign that the hydrogen sector is gaining momentum and the industry is generating better awareness,” says Ethan Hugh, Marketing Director at Loop Energy.
Loop Energy is a leading Vancouver-based designer and manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cell systems for light commercial vehicles, transit buses, and medium and heavy-duty trucks. Loop’s business model is built on the hybrid hydrogen approach—in combination with battery EVs—to meet the unique needs of commercial customers: long driving range, extended high-speed highway driving, and heavy payload.
GenH2 Hydrogen
“Logistics and transportation companies are launching initiatives to minimize their carbon footprint and in the process seeing gains in both the bottom line and overall image. Hydrogen has become the strategic cornerstone of sustainability for the trucking industry and that it why it is critical for our company to attends show, like the ACT Expo, where we can showcase hydrogen’s critical role in the present and future of transportation.” – Cody Bateman, CEO and Founder of GenH2, and who also leads the company’s team of former NASA experts who possess decades of experience researching, engineering and producing hydrogen solutions.
Greg Gosnell, President of GenH2: “We are seeing a lot of interest around the need for Hydrogen – especially, infrastructure! Just today there was a huge article (as well as mentioned in keynote) that there are 44 cargo ships off the short of Long Beach waiting to get into the US and can’t because of need for more trucks / infrastructure.Shell and several other big companies stated how the limited supply is the most critical issue. Hydrogen is truly at a tipping point now and many vendors and experts will need to collaborate to accelerate the hydrogen economy. The business and consumer customers are both starving for hydrogen.”
SEA Electric by the Long Beach Sea
“SEA Electric is on the cusp of significant expansion globally, so industry gatherings such as this are vital in spreading the word that we are a major player to be reckoned with,” said Tony Fairweather, president and founder, SEA Electric, “As an example, for the very first time at the ACT Expo we were able to collaborate with Meritor, a recently announced strategic shareholder in SEA Electric.”
“Activities such as the Ride and Drive Experience allowed many visitors to experience pure-electric, zero-emissions power for the very first time.
FreeWire
“ACT draws people who are deep into electrification. They are not just thinking about it, they are actually doing it,” stated Ethan Sprague, FreeWire Technologies VP Sales and Marketing. “It is these potential customers who have dealt with the challenges of deploying charging at scale, in a variety of locations, who understand the impact of energy charges and appreciate the benefits provided by battery integrated charging. We attend ACT to really tease out how we can help fleets, on the leading edge of electrification, be successful.”
Capacity Trucks
Capacity Trucks, a subsidiary of REV Group, Inc. (NYSE: REVG), announced it has produced the first North American hydrogen fuel cell electric hybrid terminal truck built from the ground up. The company has manufactured two of these trucks, which are currently in operation at the Port of Long Beach, CA.
Under a grant awarded in 2019, Capacity Trucks designed these two hydrogen fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles. They maximize uptime by providing a hydrogen power backup when the electric battery requires recharging. This hydrogen fuel cell hybrid electric terminal truck is designed for operation in intermodal, port, and warehouse/distribution applications.
“As we complete more testing and put more hours into the development of Capacity’s Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Hybrid truck, it is exciting to see we are exceeding our original estimated runtime.Leading the path towards Zero Emissions is a focus for Capacity Trucks. The ACT Expo was the perfect opportunity to debut our Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Hybrid and highlight Capacity Truck’s new innovations, which will include the launch of our upcoming Battery Electric Terminal truck,” says Ryan Rockafellow, Vice President and General Manager of Capacity Trucks
“Leading the path towards Zero Emissions is a focus for Capacity Trucks. The ACT Expo was the perfect opportunity to debut our Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Hybrid and highlight Capacity Truck’s new innovations, which will include the launch of our upcoming Battery Electric Terminal truck.
Chart Industries
Chart Industries (NYSE: GTLS) launched a new product line for heavy-duty trucks, our onboard liquid hydrogen (HLH2) fuel system. Chart’s HLH2fuel system, now available for commercial use, is intended to meet growing market demand for a variety of fuel cell and internal combustion engine applications.
This product is engineered and manufactured in Ball Ground, GA (the birthplace of Chart’s onboard natural gas (HLNG) fuel sys tem) and tested in New Pr ague, MN (the birthplace of Chart’s hydrogen products). It brings together our decades of experience in onboard HLNG fuel systems and our over 50 years of experience in liquid hydrogen fuel storage.
Chart offers this new HLH2 onboard product with a global capacity for more than 25,000 units per year. Similar to HLNG (vs. CNG), HLH2 requires roughly half of the space and weight of comparable H35 or H70 compressed hydrogen storage. This means HLH2 will be the ideal solution for heavier loads and longer ranges. At ACT Expo, the display demonstrated that dual-side mounting c an provide adequate range, just like a convention diesel tank. We also offer other configurations to suit our customers’ needs and design.
The Merits of Meritor
Meritor announced it will provide electric drivetrain sub-systems for Hyliion’s Hypertruck ERX™ electrified powertrain for Class 8 trucks.
Hyliion’s powertrain system will feature Meritor’s Blue Horizon™ 14Xe™ ePowertrain integrated drive axles as the standard position propulsion and regeneration hardware on Hyliion vehicle upfits. Hypertruck ERX provides a practical, clean, long haul powertrain solution capable of operating in all-electric mode.
Meritor, Inc. reported that Hino will be evaluating and testing Meritor’s ePowertrain for its development path to zero emissions vehicles (ZEV).
Meritor has been a long-standing key supplier for Hino Motors Manufacturing North America for dressed axles on its medium-duty truck models. With this new collaboration both companies look to expand advanced, electrified drive systems to further zero-emissions development.
Examples of Meritor’s electrified solutions include its all-electric, fully integrated, ePowertrain for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles. It is designed to provide efficiency, performance, weight savings and superior space utilization.
Key advantages of Meritor’s ePowertrain over remote mount systems include:
- Tighter turning radius due to a shorter wheelbase
- Increased room between frame rails for additional battery capacity, which extends the range of the vehicle
- Lighter weight (up to 800 pounds)
Truckers Lead the Charge to Go Electric When Running on Less Means so Much More.
More than a dozen different electric trucks from companies such as Frito-Lay, Anheuser Busch, Penske and DHL will be measured over the next three weeks along their usual delivery routes to tally the amount of carbon they emit. This is a part of Run on Less, a program aimed at measuring efficiency in trucking that is a collaboration between the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) and RMI.
For the first time, all trucks participating in the event are powered by electric motors—revealing the momentum within the trucking industry for adopting greener delivery vehicles. This is critical now more than ever, as North American delivery is growing amid an e-commerce boom driven by the pandemic. Trucking emissions account for 24% of emissions in the United States, and on average, trucks emit more carbon than gasoline-powered passenger cars.
Data will be collected daily along the three-week run and streamed live online. Final results will be unveiled the week of September 20.
Interviews with truckers, fleet operators and delivery companies prior to the Run’s launch also found the following:
- Early adopters of electric vehicles (EVs) are validating an acceptable total cost of ownership in urban medium-duty vans and trucks, terminal tractors and short regional haul applications.
- EV adoption is occurring throughout North America, but for longer haul heavy-duty semi-trucks use has been somewhat limited to California.
- There are benefits to EVs (quiet operation and reliability) as well as challenges (infrastructure and range).
- EV truck ecosystem inertia is in its early stages with many solutions emerging that will support adoption in the next several years.
- The industry needs to develop standards in the areas of charging, repair, maintenance and training.
- There is a huge demand for real-world information on EVs in commercial applications and on charging infrastructure.
- The mix of startups and traditional truck OEMs and component manufacturers is expediting the development of creative and practical solutions.
- More thought is needed on the best way to gather and manage the necessary data for fleets and manufacturers to measure and monitor their EVs
- Early adopters of EVs are having an influence on improving trucks and infrastructure
- EVs present operational challenges, for example longer charging times than fueling, which these fleets are working to mitigate.