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The Advancing Alternative Fuel Markets Adoption and Growth project in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and northern Virginia developed recommendations for uniform fire and building codes for alternative fueling infrastructure; established signage for each alternative fuel that is uniform across the project region; conducted workshops and webinars to disseminate alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) information to fleets; and provided a platform for sharing best practices among AFV users and potential users.

Using a Joint Procurement Process to Increase ZEV Adoption Nationwide was an effort led by CALSTART to develop a replicable and flexible multi-state zero emission vehicle (ZEV) procurement model. This project, also known as EV Smart Fleets, aimed to create a nationwide solicitation for fleets interested in purchasing ZEVs. By assisting fleets in developing and using a single procurement, the project aimed to reduce the purchase price of ZEVs and increase ZEV adoption in public fleets.

CALSTART and their project partners engaged automobile dealers, automakers, and a large network of state and municipal government fleet procurement officials to inform the process. After significant research and engagement with these stakeholders, the project identified several significant obstacles to a nationwide procurement model for ZEVs. This research and market analysis revealed that the franchised vehicle dealership model prevented a nationwide ZEV contract from occurring and that state governments are often prohibited from purchasing vehicles from out-of-state dealers. These, along with other insurmountable barriers, prevented the project from proceeding with the nationwide EV procurement solicitation.

This project demonstrates an operationally and economically beneficial model for electric vehicle (EV) adoption and charging station deployment by transportation service fleets, such as taxis, carsharing fleets, and transportation network companies (TNCs), and by major parking providers, such as universities, airports, hotels, and corporate campuses. The decentralized mobility ecosystem hubs deployed in this project minimize the financial risks of EV usage for drivers (both commercial drivers and the general public) while strategically locating mobility hubs to maximize EV utilization across multiple use cases (taxi, TNC, delivery, carsharing). This innovative project addresses the main operational and economic barriers to vehicle electrification in the mobility and transportation services sectors. Additionally, the project is designed to create and disseminate a complete "Replication Playbook" geared toward transportation fleet or parking service providers. The playbook includes a fully framed business plan, design and engineering plans, new commercialized software applications and tools for turn-key scaling, and marketing tools.

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