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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is working to reduce freight energy use by pairing efficient supply-side technologies and operations with freight demand management techniques in the Albany-New York City corridor. The project aims to demonstrate the mutually reinforcing effects of demand-side and supply-side efficiencies through the adoption of Energy Efficient Logistics (EELs) and to better understand which freight management strategies are most likely to be used by consumers.

As of 2019, the team has evaluated and selected an initial list of EEL initiatives. Based on feedback from stakeholders, the team is currently working to model the impact of the following EEL initiatives: receiver-led consolidation, parking loading zones and parking reservation, off-hour deliveries, parking pricing, and pickup & delivery at alternative locations. In order to assess the effectiveness of these initiatives, the team has conducted an online consumer survey about home deliveries with future plans to conduct surveys for delivery carriers and receivers. The team has also worked to update and integrate four existing models and simulation tools into one Integrated Transport-Energy Model (ITEM). This includes the Behavioral Micro-Simulation (BMS), SVTrip, Polaris, and Autonomie. Significant work has been done to acquire and manage high resolution Global Positioning System (GPS) data from fleets that can be used as inputs for SVTrip. Once completed, ITEM can be used to estimate the impact of various EEL initiatives.

The Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) is partnering with the Clean Cities Coalition Network and fleets in Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina to support the integration of a variety of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) and fueling infrastructure. CTE and its partners will offset the initial capital cost of AFVs and infrastructure, promote opportunities for collaboration and strategic partnerships among alternative fuel market players, and support the development of alternative fuel corridors.

As of 2019, CTE has incentivized the purchase or installation of approximately 194 alternative fuel vehicles for six public and private fleets. The vehicles are a mix of compressed natural gas (CNG), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and electric. CTE is currently evaluating initial key performance indicators related to operations and maintenance for these vehicles and will publish a report upon completion. Additionally, CTE identified gaps in EV, CNG, and LNG infrastructure along key highway corridors in Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. This information will be used to determine locations of future alternative fueling infrastructure.

The City of Seattle is working with Atlas Public Policy to accelerate the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) in shared-mobility applications and subsequently establish best practices for use in all U.S. metro regions. The project will identify and test techniques for effective PEV deployment and electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) installation for use by ride hail drivers and shared mobility companies. This project is partnering with four major US pilot markets: Denver, New York, Portland, and Seattle.

As of 2019, the City of Seattle and its project partners have created a strategic deployment plan, developed a geographic information system (GIS)-based prioritization model for EVSE site selection and compiled reports and tools into the EV Shared Mobility Playbook. The EV Shared Mobility Playbook includes the following tools: The EV Shared Mobility Analysis Tool, Seattle’s Dynamic Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Siting Model, and several dashboards developed in coordination with Atlas Public Policy . In 2020 the project will deploy additional EVSE, continue outreach, and evaluate the impacts of implementation strategies in different regions.

This project has multiple objectives, as follows:

• Eliminate barriers to tribal Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) access: Foster community-directed engagement identifying concerns, needs, and opportunities. Facilitate active participation and direction from Native communities, ZEV and utility experts, and our Clean Cities partners.
• Generate greater ZEV awareness: Generate greater awareness broadly at many popular, tribal-sponsored events. Foster awareness at more technical energy and climate events and support tribal participation in green transportation programs.
• Build ZEV technical capacity Support creation of community-directed ZEV transition plans and site-specific TA and workforce training, building tribal and utility capacity for future progress.
• Support long-term pollution reduction by ZEV market expansion: Reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) and air pollution through greater adoption of ZEVs and the infrastructure to support them throughout Indian Country and generally in rural areas.

The project will establish a replicable framework for developing, supporting, and advancing community-owned clean transportation implementation plans. The project will support a cohort of communities to develop community-led clean transportation audits, undertake a program of community engagement, knowledge-building, training, and technical assistance, and develop implementation plans for community-identified clean transportation projects. The project will include rural and urban communities and use a community of practice model to share cross-community knowledge and provide widely accessible education and training. It is intended to produce actionable, community-owned implementation plans for the cohort communities and replicable tools and models for other communities. The project is lead by Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership and involves two Clean Cities Coalitions: Vermont Clean Cities and Connecticut Southwest Area Clean Cities.

This project aims to quantify and demonstrate the benefits of using electric bicycles (e-bikes) for application- (app) based deliveries, by identifying the economic and non-economic advantages of using e-bikes to make deliveries of food and consumer goods. The project will collect and use extensive data to quantify improvements in operational efficiency, increases worker safety, increases worker earnings, reduces demand on the curb, reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and vehicle congestion, while creating workforce development opportunities. The also plan s to develop an online resource for users to quickly determine if e-bikes are appropriate for their needs. This project will decarbonize transportation emissions by informing effective and comprehensive clean mobility policies, pedestrian and bicycle safety, and establish a clear business case for app-based delivery companies and its workers to increase the use of e-bikes instead of driving.

Compared to conventional trucks, battery-electric trucks (eTrucks) have potential advantages in reducing fuel and maintenance costs as well as harmful and greenhouse gas emissions. The medium-duty (MD) truck market is a likely candidate for a significant and near-term adoption of eTrucks in daily, return-to-base, urban and regional trucking applications of fewer than 100 miles per day. However, many trucking fleets have very limited or no exposure to the new eTruck technology. The lack of eTruck experience and the concerns about eTrucks including range limits, charging infrastructure availability, maintenance, and cost, are considered the main barriers for the broader adoption by trucking fleets of MD eTrucks. The objective of this project is to demonstrate a MD eTruck technology fleet of three eTruck vehicles and supporting infrastructure in fleets that have little or no experience with these technologies. The MD eTruck demonstration testbed is used to evaluate the performance of MD electric trucks in various applications by a diverse group of trucking fleets. The project may help potential fleets gain necessary eTruck knowledge and experience to make informed decisions about MD eTruck adoption. The project collects eTruck fleet operational and use data to analyze the challenges and needs associated with the use of MD eTrucks in fleets across a broad range of geographical locations.

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

West Virginia University, multiple Clean Cities coalitions, and Wale Associates, Inc., are partnering to develop a tool to estimate the vocation dependent variations in maintenance costs of heavy- and medium-duty vehicles fueled by alternative fuels, including natural gas, propane, and electricity. Vocation Integrated Cost Estimate (VoICE) for maintenance and repair (MR) compares cost estimates of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) with conventional diesel vehicles of the same vocation to illustrate vocation-specific benefits of adopting AFVs. The study addresses medium- and heavy-duty vehicles operating in urban delivery, port drayage, school bus, refuse truck, and transit bus applications. The overall goal of the cost model estimate tool is to build a user-friendly application for fleets operating nationwide. The study will model the maintenance costs of AFVs as a function of duty cycle parameters, which is a critical knowledge gap for fleets that would consider adopting AFVs to replace conventional diesels.

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.

The goal of this project is to prove the operational and financial effectiveness of medium-duty (MD) and heavy-duty (HD) electric vehicles (EVs) in commercial fleets. Through diverse partnerships, the project employs commercially available EVs, electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), facilities, and app-platforms to ensure technology deployment and to showcase significant return on investment. While original equipment manufacturer (OEM) models are newly becoming available, many fleet questions remain about the real-world operational and economic viability of MD and HD EVs. This project is designed to provide fleets the real-world experience needed to answer these questions for themselves and disseminate this information from trusted fleet and Clean Cities coalition peers. Clean Fuels Ohio is partnering with OEMs and EVSE equipment providers to operate three demonstration projects of MD and HD EVs (refuse truck, delivery trucks) with a goal of spurring Class 4-8 EV adoption in fleet applications nationwide.

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.

The objective of the Supporting Transportation Electrification - Leadership, Learning, Assistance, and Resources (STELLAR) project is to bring together 13 Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), supported by several nonprofit technical assistance providers, to build capacity, engage community members, develop strategic plans, and conduct workforce training to support more equitable transportation decarbonization in underserved communities.