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The California Fleets and Workplace Alternative Fuels Project is a statewide effort to develop templates and best practices for permitting AFV refueling infrastructure, collaborate with colleges on first responder training, promote workplace EV charging, and work with fleets to implement petroleum reduction strategies.

The objective of this proposal was to create a unified statewide approach to planning and implementation of critical plug-in electric vehicle charging infrastructure activities in order to support and expand the market for plug-in electric vehicles in California.

The Gas Technology Institute (GTI) is developing guidance on cost-effective and practical solutions to the permitting of fleet maintenance and repair facilities. The guidance will aid facility owners, authorities having jurisdiction (AHJ’s), designers, fire officials, and other stakeholders in interpreting and understanding regulatory requirements of needed modifications to maintenance facilities. GTI is working with industry experts to address necessary maintenance facility and garage upgrades for three major alternative fuels currently being used in heavy duty vehicles: compressed natural gas, hydrogen, and propane. The guidance will address gas detection, ventilation, electrical classification compliance, heating devices, alarm system configuration, and behavior of lighter-than-air fuels.

As of 2019, GTI has developed multiple reports, safety technology summaries, code reports, best practice documents, presentation materials, and videos for each of the three gaseous fuels. These materials are available to the public through the project’s website that features an interactive diagram of a maintenance garage. Using these materials, GTI has conducted online outreach and hosted workshops across the country including at multiple large conferences in Chicago, Illinois; Emeryville, California; Los Angeles, California and Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.

Leadership of Employers for Electrification Program (LEEP) is an equity-centered national workplace charging program with best practice certification. This program offers employers electric vehicle (EV) charging guidance and streamlines the process of logistical collaboration with industry suppliers. Forth leverages partnerships with leading key organizations nationwide, to implement regional employer-centered charging guidance. LEEP will engage thousands of workplaces in achieving the goal of installing at least 20,000 chargers across the United States in three years. This coordinated, user-friendly approach toward education, outreach, and technical assistance will encourage employers to make the necessary investment in EV charging.

For more information on this project, check the Technology Integration 2022 Annual Report or Annual Merit Review presentation.

San Bernardino Associated Governments (SANBAG) partnered on this project with the California Energy Commission (CEC) and Ryder Systems, Inc., to deploy 202 state-of-the-art compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) heavy-duty tractor-trailer trucks in leased service. The objectives of the project were to 1) demonstrate the feasibility of using cleaner-burning, lower-carbon content natural gas in commercial trucking operations; 2) provide a low-carbon supply chain transportation solution to Ryder customers seeking to displace petroleum diesel fuel with domestically produced natural gas; and 3) achieve substantial, quantifiable reductions in ozone precursor and greenhouse gas (GHG) air pollutant emissions within the jurisdiction of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). In addition to the deployment of the heavy-duty natural gas tractors, the project also constructed two publicly accessible natural gas fueling stations in the cities of Fontana and Orange, California, and a CNG/LNG maintenance facility in Rancho Dominquez, California.

The objective of the WestSmart EV@Scale project is to identify pathways to accelerate use of EVs. The pathways will be evaluated by researchers through the analysis of EV infrastructure gaps, EV workforce development training, EV infrastructure deployment and data gathering, freight and port load, and grid evaluations. WestSmart EV@Scale leverages lessons learned and best practices from the tremendous success of the WestSmartEV project in Utah. It facilitates successful expansion into a regional program covering portions of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, and Arizona—covering all major corridors in and out of California. It encompasses five critical EV application focus areas of: Destination Highways (National Park and Recreation), Underserved Regions (EV Training, Rural Transit Hub, Electric Car Share at Affordable Housing), Urban Mobility (Transportation Network Company, Intermodal Hub), Freight (Airport, Inland Port), and Community/Workplace (Mobility Hub, Workplace Charging).

For more information on this project, check the Technology Integration 2021 Annual Report or the 2022 Annual Merit Review presentation and the 2023 Annual Merit Review presentation.

This project provided funding to partially offset the cost to purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) trucks and construct a publically accessible LNG fueling station in Las Vegas, Nevada, adjacent to McCarran International Airport and the intersection of Interstates 215 and 15. UPS deployed 48 heavy-duty Class 8 LNG tractor trucks, while the station supports an additional 150 LNG vehicles in UPS’s California, Nevada, and Utah operations. The project also included an outreach effort to generate additional usage at the LNG station and ensure continued viability of the LNG corridor.

The objective of the project is to accelerate the equitable decarbonization of our transportation sector with Disadvantaged Communities (DACs) in California's Central Coast and South Bay regions. Community-based organizations (CBOs) who represent DACs will have a role in the project, and peer educators will support the project’s capacity building, outreach and education, technical assistance, and workforce training activities.

In California's Central Valley, high auto ownership costs, limited transit service, and increasing housing costs are an accessibility triple threat for low-income populations in rural communities. These residents need more affordable, clean, safe, and reliable travel modes that fill the wide accessibility gaps between existing transit service and personal vehicle ownership. Many of these residents struggle to access essential opportunities (education and jobs) and essential services (health care, recreation, and healthy food). In rural communities, high-quality transit services (fixed route and dial-a-ride) are challenging to provide because of low-density, dispersed development patterns. These conditions provide an opportunity to meet local needs with highly efficient alternative fuel vehicles. The project involves a volunteer ride program (Míoride) using electric vehicles from a local electric vehicle carsharing organization (Míocar). Volunteer drivers use the electric vehicles to provide critical rideshare services for low-income communities in rural Tulare and Kern Counties in exchange for use of the electric vehicles for their own transportation needs, demonstrating the value of these vehicles in effectively meeting the needs of rural communities. The project team is collecting operational data from the vehicles and charging stations to assess the energy efficiency of the rideshare system.

For more information on this project, check the Technology Integration 2020 Annual Report or Annual Merit Review presentation.

The California Department of General Services (DGS) and Propel Fuels built 36 alternative fuel stations to provide public access to low carbon alternative fuels for more than 600,000 flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) statewide and included a comprehensive development program. This program included identifying and establishing lease agreements for station locations, designing, engineering, and permitting plans for the infrastructure and signage, engaging contractors to perform the build and manage construction, and marketing to the public and fleets to increase adoption of the fuels. These stations distribute alternative fuels including ethanol (E85) for use in FFVs and biodiesel (B20) to the public, as well as government and private fleets.