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West Coast Clean Transit Corridor Initiative
6/1/2020
Electric utility companies in the West Coast states of California, Oregon, and Washington have conducted the West Coast Clean Transit Corridor Initiative (WCCTCI) study to assess the charging infrastructure medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks will need as they travel along the approximately 1,300-mile-long Interstate 5 (I-5) corridor and interconnecting highways. This report documents the study findings, and provides background information on regulations, policies, and programs pertaining to vehicle electrification efforts, trends in the electric truck market, and truck traffic volumes and trucking facilities along I-5. The lessons learned from the WCCTCI can be applied to other regions and routes across the rest of the nation.
The Automated Mobility District Implementation Catalog – Insights from Ten Early-Stage Deployments
6/1/2020
Major disruptive technologies are set to redefine the way in which people view travel, particularly in dense urban areas. Already, ride-hailing services have redefined mobility expectations of a new generation of urban dwellers in some places around the country. Over the next few decades, the proliferation of automated vehicles1 (AVs), will be enhanced by the next generation of shared mobility. This combination of AV operations with on-demand service will provide convenience of mobility similar to that being exhibited in today’s transportation networking companies (TNCs). Shared, automated, public mobility resulting from the cross- hybridization of AVs with on-demand mobility service will bring economic and system efficiencies. Economic efficiencies may be realized by less vehicle ownership and more vehicle “usership.” Many companies are already exploring avenues for shared automated mobility through fleet operations as the wave of the future.
Authors: Young, S.; Lott J. S.
Foundations of an Electric Mobility Strategy for the City of Mexicali
5/4/2020
The Foundations of an Electric Mobility Strategy for the city of Mexicali aligns with numerous energy, environmental, and transport plans and will help Mexicali meet multiple related goals. Mexicali’s energy mix, with 28% renewables, already enables plugin electric vehicles (PEVs) to reduce the mass of greenhouse gases (GHGs) per km driven 2/3 below that of their conventional counterparts. This GHG benefit will increase should Mexicali take steps to further increase their share of renewables in their electricity supply. Beyond increasing renewables, Mexicali could possibly deploy PEVs so that electric load is added in the right location (depending on further analysis of substations and feeders) and at the right time (between 21:00 and 11:00) in order to minimize grid upgrade costs. There are a handful of charge timing control mechanisms –at various stages of development– that Mexicali could implement. Transport electrification can facilitate mass transit by powering buses, trains, and small vehicles that get people from their homes or work to the transit stations and vice versa. Mexicali could utilize fleets as early PEV adopters in order to gain acceptance and add electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE). Recommended prioritization of different types of fleets are suggested in this report: transit buses, school buses, airport ground support equipment (GSE), refuse trucks, taxis, shuttle buses, campus vehicles, delivery trucks, utility trucks, and finally semitrailers. There are a handful of policy options that Mexicali could use to incentivize fleets to purchase PEVs, including mandates, economic incentives, energy performance contracts, waivers to access restrictions, electricity discounts, and EVSE requirements in building codes. Mexicali’s taxi fleet was an early adopter of PEVs and had experienced some challenges—mostly related to the insufficient range of the taxis due to hot weather.
Authors: Johnson, C.; Nanayakkara, S.; Cappellucci, J.; Moniot, M.
EV Charging Interoperability Recommendations for State Policymakers
5/1/2020
In the context of the electric vehicle charging ecosystem, the term “interoperability” broadly refers to the compatibility of key system components that allow vehicles, charging stations, charging networks, and the grid to exchange information, communicate effectively and work together as part of a seamless charging system. Interoperability is essential to the optimal functioning of the charging network. This document offers recommendations for state policy makers to promote widespread interoperability through state electric vehicle supply equipment grant and procurement contracts or the development of market-wide requirements for public chargers.
Public Electric Vehicle Charging Business Models for Retail Site Hosts
4/29/2020
As the passenger plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) market grows in the United States, public PEV charging stations will become increasingly important to serve the charging needs of millions of drivers. For retailers, PEV charging stations offer an opportunity to produce new revenue streams or expand on existing ones while also advancing broader efforts to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. This brief provides an overview of PEV market growth and the role of public charging options, along with the potential benefits to retailers of hosting PEV charging infrastructure.
Authors: Satterfield, C.; Nigro, N.
Development and Demonstration of a Class 6 Range-Extended Electric Vehicle for Commercial Pickup and Delivery Operation
4/14/2020
Range-extended hybrids are an attractive option for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicle fleets because they offer the efficiency of an electrified powertrain with the driving range of a conventional diesel powertrain. The vehicle essentially operates as if it was purely electric for most trips, while ensuring that all commercial routes can be completed in any weather conditions or geographic terrain. Fuel use and point-source emissions can be significantly reduced, and in some cases eliminated, as many shorter routes can be fully electrified with this architecture.
Authors: Jeffers, M.A.; Miller, E.; Kelly, K.; Kresse, J.; Li, K.; Dalton, J.; Kader, M.; Frazier, C.
Notes: This report is copyrighted and can be accessed through SAE International in United States website.
Right-of-Way Charging: How Cities Can Lead the Way
4/1/2020
As transportation electrification accelerates, right-of-way charging, or the installation of electric vehicle chargers in the areas between neighboring properties, will be critical for meeting charging demand. This report outlines the case for right-of-way charging and the strategic approach that cities can take to implement right-of-way charging in their communities, outlining strategic approaches, barriers and challenges for implementation, best practices for designing right-of-way charging programs, and case studies of municipal right-of-way charging projects.
Guidebook for Deploying Zero-Emission Transit Buses
4/1/2020
The zero‐emission bus market, including electric buses and fuel cell electric buses, has seen significant growth in recent years. Zero-emission buses do not rely on fossil fuels for operation and have zero harmful tailpipe emissions, improving local air quality. The increase in market interest has also helped decrease product pricing. This guidebook is designed to provide transit agencies with information on current best practices for zero-emission bus deployments and lessons learned from previous deployments, industry experts, and available industry resources.
Authors: Linscott, M.; Posner, A.
Notes: This report is copyrighted and can be accessed through the National Academy of Sciences website.
Charging Infrastructure Requirements to Support Electric Ride-Hailing in U.S. Cities
3/24/2020
This working paper assesses the charging infrastructure needs to support the growth of electric ride-hailing in U.S. cities. The analysis quantifies the amount and type of infrastructure needed and specifically analyzes the extent to which electric ride-hailing fleets can take advantage of underutilized public charging infrastructure capacity.
Authors: Nicholas, M.; Slowik, P.; Lutsey, N.
Notes:
This copyrighted publication can be accessed on The International Council on Clean Transportation's website.
R&D Insights for Extreme Fast Charging of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles: Insights from the NREL Commercial Vehicles and Extreme Fast Charging Research Needs Workshop, August 27-28, 2019
3/1/2020
As battery costs have declined and battery performance has improved, the applicability of vehicle electrification has expanded beyond passenger cars to the commercial vehicle sector. However, due to the larger batteries that would be needed for the medium- and heavy-duty (MDHD) sector, the electric charging capabilities to serve these larger commercial vehicles will need to be substantially more powerful than light-duty chargers. More specifically, such 'extreme fast charging' (XFC) will likely need to reach the megawatt scale to provide a full charge in less than 30 minutes in some applications. In addition, the combined cost of electrified vehicles and charging must be competitive with the costs of petroleum-based technologies and other alternatives to encourage widespread adoption of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) among MDHD fleets. Most of these fleets have a commercial mission and demand low total cost of ownership (TCO) (which motivates minimal refueling times) and high performance from their vehicles.
Authors: Walkowicz, K.; Meintz, A.; Farrell, J.
Insights on Electric Trucks for Retailers and Trucking Companies
2/28/2020
The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) has partnered with the Retail Industry Leaders Association, Atlas Public Policy, and David Gardiner and Associates to explore the landscape and outlook for electric trucks for freight movement. This joint initiative assesses the market landscape, challenges, and opportunities for electric truck adoption among retailer shippers and their transportation partners.
Authors: Leung, J.; Peace, J.
Assessing Financial Barriers to the Adoption of Electric Trucks
2/20/2020
Medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles (EVs) are a relatively new technology and many freight industry stakeholders lack access to independent analysis to help make informed decisions about electric trucks and charging infrastructure options. This paper assesses the market landscape, challenges, and opportunities for electric truck adoption among major shippers and their transportation partners by performing a total cost of ownership analysis for EVs under a wide range of procurement scenarios and comparing these results with those from an equivalent diesel vehicle procurement.
Authors: Satterfield, C.; Nigro, N.
A Decision Support Tool for Planning Neighborhood-Scale Deployment of Low-Speed Shared Automated Shuttles
2/18/2020
Increasing interest and investment in connected, automated, and electric vehicles, and mobility-as-a-service concepts are paving the way for the next major shift in transportation through automated and shared mobility. The initial excitement towards rapid deployment and adoption of automated vehicles has subsided, and low-speed automated shuttles are emerging as a more pragmatic pathway for introducing automated mobility in geo-fenced districts. Such shuttles hold the promise to provide a viable alternative for serving short trips in urban districts with high travel densities. As interest in low-speed automated shuttle systems (to improve urban mobility) increases, the need for tools that can inform communities regarding benefits or dis-benefits of automated shuttle deployments is imminent. However, most of the existing transportation planning and simulation tools are not capable of handling emerging shared automated mobility options. This presentation presents a microscopic simulation toolkit that can be used by cities and communities to plan for the deployment of low-speed automated shuttles systems, as well as other shared mobility options. Labeled as the Automated Mobility District (AMD) modeling and simulation toolkit, the proposed decision support tool can help cities evaluate the mobility and sustainability impacts of deploying shared automated vehicles in geofenced regions. This paper presents a description of the toolkit, as well as a sample scenario analysis for the deployment of low-speed automated shuttles in Greenville, South Carolina. Results from the scenario study demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed simulation toolkit in planning for advanced mobility systems.
Authors: Zhu, L.; Wang, J.; Garikapati, V.; Young, S.
Notes: Presented at the 2020 Transportation Research Board (TRB) 99th Annual Meeting, 12-16 January 2020, Washington, D.C.
A Novel and Practical Method to Quantify the Quality of Mobility: The Mobility Energy Productivity Metric: Preprint
2/13/2020
Recent technology innovations are enabling fundamental improvements in mobility systems, including options for new travel modes, methods, and opportunities to connect people with goods, services, and employment. A desire to quantify and compare both existing and emerging transportation options motivated development of the mobility energy productivity (MEP) metric described herein. The MEP metric fundamentally measures the potential of a city's transportation system to connect a person to a variety of services and activities that define a high-quality of life, relative to the convenience, cost and energy needed to provide these connections. Fundamentally derived from accessibility theory, the MEP advances practice by using readily available travel time data (either from web-based application programming interfaces (APIs) or outputs from an urban transportation model) combined with established parameters that reflect the energy intensity and cost of various travel modes, and relative frequency of activity engagement. The construction of the MEP metric allows for aggregation and disaggregation to the appropriate spatial, modal, and trip purpose resolution, as analysis needs dictate. The MEP could be used to compare alternative futures related to technology, infrastructure investment, or policy, providing a much-needed tool for planners, researchers, and analysts.
Authors: Hou, Y.; Garikapati, V.; Nag, A.; Young, S.; Grushka, T.
Notes: Presented at the 2020 TRB Annual Meeting, 12-16 January 2020, Washington D.C.
