Paccar Inc.

Proterra’s surviving businesses may shed bankruptcy stigma  

The stigma of going through bankruptcy is real, whether personal or corporate. But sometimes, it turns out OK. Consider Proterra Inc., a maker of electric transit buses, battery packs and a developer of charging infrastructure.

Several startups in the electrification space ran out of financial runway. They either disappeared or were absorbed by other companies. Proterra’s electric transit bus business tasted early success after launching in 2004. Investors like automaker General Motors’ venture...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/proterras-surviving-businesses-may-shed-bankruptcy-stigma

Of floor mops, M&M coatings … and battery packs 

What do coatings for M&M chocolate candies, O-Cedar floor mops and battery packs for electric trucks have in common?

All three come from German industrial conglomerate Freudenberg Group. The company operates many other seemingly incongruous businesses from filtration to home cleaning products.

A history of handoffs

Freudenberg’s battery business is an appropriate Truck Tech topic. But not as tasty than M&Ms, for which it makes the hard shell coatings through its Capol business unit. 

The...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/of-floor-mops-mm-coatings-and-battery-packs

Could the flux capacitor solve hydrogen storage on Class 8 trucks?

The garbage-gulping Mr. Fusion from “Back to the Future” was pure fiction, but the flux capacitor that powered Doc Brown’s flying DeLorean is real. NASA made it. The space agency licenses it. And hydrogen-powered trucks might benefit from it.

A license like no other

“I actually have a license for the flux capacitor. How many people can say that?” Michael Kramer, founder of startup Novadev, told me. “The only one who’s made a lot of money on this program so far is my patent attorney. He got paid a...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/could-the-flux-capacitor-solve-hydrogen-storage-on-class-8-trucks

Behind Climate United’s historic $250M electric truck buy

Climate United’s plan to spend $250 million to purchase 500 Class 8 electric trucks makes a great headline. But beyond the benefit to owner-operators and small fleets, the impact involves the future of zero-tailpipe-emission freight hauling.

More than cleaning up the ports

Climate United is stewarding a $6.97 billion grant of Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency. The immediate goal is to help clean up the nation’s ports, where older and dirtier trucks...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/behind-climate-uniteds-historic-250m-electric-truck-buy

Are hydrogen combustion engines delayed or DOA?

Guidehouse Insights has published an extensive report on the global prospects for internal combustion engines powered by hydrogen. You can spend $3,950 to buy the full report and its 43 charts tracking markets for H2 ICE. Or, you can read one of the author’s perspectives below.

Hydrogen ICE study: Not that great a solution

Except for some vocational use cases in North America, a forgiving regulatory environment in Europe and a drive for energy independence in India, the idea of using gaseous or...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/are-hydrogen-combustion-engines-delayed-or-doa

Building an electrification business in reverse

When most fleets think about the electric grid, it’s about how much power they can get and when. Seed-stage startup Synop has another idea – making money by helping return unneeded power to utilities.

Seed-stage startup Synop found its niche in bidirectional charging. (Image: Synop)
Giving back (electricity) as a business

When Gagan Dhillon worked for Volvo Trucks North America, he saw an opportunity to create a TMS for electric trucks. No one was interested. Then he and longtime friend Andrew...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/building-an-electrification-business-in-reverse

Unraveling the mystery of electric trucks’ residual values 

The regulation-driven purchase of commercial electric trucks carry a lot of unknowns. One of the biggest is their residual value, or how much they will be worth as trade-ins.

Rich Mohr, senior vice president of North America ChargePoint, said the past is a prelude for what is happening with first-generation electric trucks.

Depreciating electric trucks to scrap value

“Three years ago, the biggest risk around fleets adopting electric vehicles was the residual value and the [anticipated] life of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/unraveling-the-mystery-of-electric-trucks-residual-values

Could autonomous trucks help save the planet?

It’s understood that autonomous trucks boost fuel efficiency compared to human-driven big rigs.

But the potential energy efficiency gains could be far greater.

In a white paper released Tuesday, Aurora Innovation looked at immediate, medium- and longer-term opportunities and found some obvious and not-so-obvious savings.

The headline factoid: Autonomous trucks could achieve 13%-32% net energy efficiency improvement per loaded mile compared to human-driven miles. It is a lot to digest. 

Aurora makes...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/could-autonomous-trucks-help-save-the-planet

Really cold hydrogen could bring driving range parity with diesel

The time it takes to fuel a hydrogen-powered fuel cell truck is already on par with diesel. But there is still a yawning gap when it comes to comparable driving range. A new hydrogen storage system that packs more energy density might change that.

The goal of hydrogen and battery-electric trucks is to reduce the 12% of greenhouse gas emissions attributed to heavy-duty trucking.

Chill out: Verne goes deep into minus celsius for cryo-compression

San Francisco-based startup Verne is named after 19th...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/really-cold-hydrogen-could-bring-driving-range-parity-with-diesel

3 trucking majors combine to advance electric infrastructure

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Three of the nation’s largest medium- and heavy-duty truck makers snagged the apropos acronym PACT...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/3-trucking-majors-combine-to-advance-electric-infrastructure

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