UCC goes to the ACT EXPO
Another successful ACT Expo event was held in April this year.
This is one of the most exciting events for a transportation guru or geek. Each year your fellow coordinators participate as speakers and panel moderators and this year was not exception. With electric and hydrogen taking center stage this year; we look to the future of electrified and fuel cell technologies. It was also a time to reflect and shake hands with the pioneering fuels like CNG and propane Autogas. The refinement of these trusted fuels and vehicles has reached an all-time high. We can feel confident in our mission of supporting these legacy fuels as they are state-side, American made and cleaner than their petroleum counter-parts by upwards of 90% in the case of diesel. These fuels and engines offer clean emission solutions today whereas the electric medium and heavy duty fleets are not expected to hit the road in any capacity for almost ten years. However, the excitement for these Tesla-inspired trucks are undeniable. And again, Clean Cities folks are at the forefront.
Biofuels are emerging strongly and the excitement mounts as we can offer our fleets carbon-benefiting models of RNG combined with the new engines such as the Cummins models that are creating a cleaner model than even electric. They are actually capable of offering more than zero, they can offer 125+% emission reductions. Biodiesel is taking more emissions from carbon-constrained cities and now one can access renewable propane as a result of the market expansion.
Clean Cities Coalitions have been center stage of the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo for over 25 years. Legacy coordinators recall the first ACT was held in a small hotel conference room with about 45 people total. This year over 4000 people showed up to show and tell their stories and gather new ones. These type of events showcase the culmination of the grass-roots work completed by the coalitions and this multiplier effect can been noted “as the tires hit the road” throughout the entire event. Clean Cities folks have been the ones who have supported local and regional fleets in their fleet deployment, infrastructure build-out and ultimately the sustainability of innovative and changing technologies. And it’s not just the vehicles you will see on the expo floor. You will see new CNG tanks, gaseous fueling handles, GPS technologies, advanced EVSE units, and cool innovations like solar roof-top APU’s (alternative power units) helps innovators keep pace with the exciting world of transportation.
If any of this excites you to learn more, you can always look to our vast resources in the AFDC site. If you have an exciting project, reach out your coordinator to share your stories through DOE funded projects in the form of case studies and white papers.
