Fleet Electrification Is Getting Easier By The Day

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If the new “OBBA” tax law was intended to dampen the enthusiasm for EVs in the US, it’s a day late and a dollar short. Despite the potential for a short term disruption, the long term momentum is on the side of EVs. One good example is the fleet electrification movement, where fleet owners continue to plan ahead for zero emission mobility, automakers continue to respond with more electric vehicle options, and new stakeholders in the fleet electrification service industry keep popping up to lend a hand.

Fleet Electrification Is Here To Stay

The global carbon accounting movement is also contributing to the staying power of the fleet electrification movement here in the US. Domestic fleet owners with an eye on the global market are continuing to adopt new technologies that reduce their carbon profile in accord with international standards, including their warehouses and other buildings as well as their vehicles.

In years past, fleet owners would have to do all the heavy lifting of analysis and planning in order to propel their electrification journey forward. Those days are long gone. Energy-as-a-Service contracts and the related field of Charging-as-a-Service enable businesses to replace and upgrade outdated vehicles and other equipment without incurring up front costs, and new software tools enable businesses to identify key areas for decarbonization (see more fleet decarbonization background here).

One new face on the CleanTechnica business decarbonization radar is the California-based carbon and energy management platform Gravity. Earlier today Gravity announced the launch of its new “Energy Management Marketplace,” which includes a soup-to-nuts energy analysis along with the identification of optimal action steps.

Beyond Fleet Electrification

Gravity also deploys a roster of trusted partners to transfer those action steps into boots-on-the-ground implementation. In addition to fleet electrification services, the new Marketplace covers all aspects of enterprise energy management, including the all-important area of reactive power expenses (reactive power refers to electricity that is not consumed directly, but is needed to maintain the necessary amperage for equipment and facilities).

LED lighting retrofits, solar energy, battery energy storage, and demand response enrollment are other ripe areas for potential savings under the Gravity platform (demand response programs enable businesses to participate in  virtual power plants and other utility programs that shave down electricity bills).

On the all-important finance side, Gravity connects businesses with tax incentives and other cost-cutters through its partners TaxTaker and Renew Energy Partners. “In addition, Ever.green helps customers procure high-impact renewable energy certificates (RECs) to meet sustainability goals and offers clean energy tax credits, which deliver a financial return,” Gravity notes.

Re-Inventing The Electric Fleet Of The Future

In terms of momentum in the EV adoption movement, the meat of the Marketplace consists of analytic tools that enable fleet owners to identify the most impactful vehicle decarbonization pathways. Gravity’s partner in the fleet electrification area is Sawatch Labs, the carbon accounting and electrification branch of the global fleet management firm WEX.

“Sawatch Labs is the premier fleet electrification software firm that uses mile-by-mile predictive analytics to determine EV suitability, cost modeling, infrastructure planning, vehicle management, and emissions reporting to help you track and meet your goals for sustainability and profitability,” Sawatch Labs says of itself.

Sawatch introduced its “evEZ” software in 2017 to help fleet owners sort through their options including:

• Compare the total cost of ownership between ICEs and EVs based on actual driving
• Accurately identify and assess potential operational impacts
• Understand daily charging costs per vehicle
• Identify where and how much each vehicle will need to charge, each day
• Mitigate range anxiety
• Compare all available EV models’ operational and economic fit

Sawatch also provides fleet owners with tools to optimize charging patterns and avoid paying extra for recharging during peak periods. In another sign of the potential for accelerating the fleet electrification movement, WEX’s Sourcewell cooperative purchasing branch — with a membership roster topping 45,000 agencies — has incorporated Sawatch’s software into its contracts.

More Fleet Electrification Choices Are Coming

EV industry leader Tesla has let much of the fleet vehicle market slip through its fingers, but other automakers have been filling the breach. Among other recent news, earlier this year Rivian announced that its electric delivery van is now open to all fleets, having reached the end of an exclusive agreement with Amazon. Last week GM announced that it has partnered with Hyundai to bring a new electric delivery van to the North American market to provide fleet owners with a smaller-sized version of its BrightDrop vans, and Ford unveiled its much-anticipated plans for reducing the cost of EVs made in the US, including vans and pickup trucks as well as passenger cars. The California startup TELO is also moving forward with plans for bringing a tiny but functional urban-sized electric pickup truck to market.

Moving up the size ladder, heavy duty electric trucks have been popping up like mushrooms after the rain. Japan’s ZO Motors is among the newcomers to set up shop in the US, while Mack Trucks is counting on its high profile brand to gain an edge in the electric truck market.

The school bus market is particularly interesting. In addition to broader decarbonization goals and cost savings, the public health benefits are readily apparent to anyone who lives or works near a public school where buses sit idling during dropoff and pickup.

Over and above the health issue, school buses are a particularly interesting target for electrification. They have large batteries and are typical idle for long periods during daytime hours as well as overnight, which provides ample opportunities to deploy them as roving energy storage units. The leading school bus firm First Student has one such project underway in Brooklyn, New York, and last year it also launched a new “First Charge” branch aimed at reducing the cost of installing new electric bus charging stations.

The chaotic state of US vehicle electrification policy notwithstanding, the march of the fleet electrification movement marches on. One example popped up earlier today in California, when the Pacific Gas and Electric Company partnered with the Fremont Unified School District and the EV charging management firm The Mobility House to launch a new electric school bus fleet equipped with advanced vehicle-to-grid technology.

In contrast to diesel buses that simply suck up fuel and spew dangerous pollutants into the air day after day, the new electric buses will perform double duty as grid assets. When not on the road during peak demand periods, they can discharge their batteries to support grid reliability for the whole community.

Of course, the million-dollar question is why the US government has turned its back on the vehicle electrification movement. If you have any thoughts about that, drop a note in the comment thread. Better yet, find your representatives in Congress and let them know what you think.

Image (cropped): The US fleet electrification movement continues apace, powered by new analytic tools, new opportunities for grid interaction, and an ever-widening range of vehicle options (courtesy of US Department of Energy).