Expanded multinational collaboration to grow zero-emission commercial vehicle market to be announced by CALSTART’s Drive to Zero program

CALSTART’s Global Commercial Vehicle Drive to Zero program (Drive to Zero) will announce a major expansion of its multinational collaborative push to grow the zero-emission commercial vehicle market.

The announcement will be made at a session of the Eleventh Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM11), a global forum for top energy ministers as well as private sector leaders designed to forward policies and programs that advance clean energy technology. The Drive to Zero announcement will take place during the session - “10 Years of EVI: Entering the Decade of the Electric Drive.” The public is invited to view the online session at www.cem-mi-saudi2020.sa on 9/16/20 at 4am PT, 7am ET, 1pm CEST, 2pm SAST (to view the session, registration is required). CEM11 is being hosted virtually due to COVID-19 by Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  

“The announcement by several new nations to join the Drive to Zero campaign reflects a rapid growing awareness about the near-term commercial prospects of zero-emission trucks and buses. By joining the program and coordinating policies across nations, we’ll be able to more quickly achieve global economies of scale,” said John Boesel, President and CEO of clean transportation technology accelerator CALSTART.

The announcement - to be made by Drive to Zero, in partnership with the Clean Energy Ministerial, International Energy Agency and the nations of Canada and China - comes in the wake of a number of new far-reaching policies in the United States aimed at putting more zero-emission trucks, buses and other commercial vehicles on the road.

In June, California adopted the landmark Advanced Clean Trucks rule, or ACT. The first regulation of its kind calls on commercial truck and van manufacturers to begin selling zero-emission vehicles by 2024 in California. Under the policy, all new commercial trucks and vans sold in the state will be zero-emissions by 2045.

“Although ACT was adopted in California, in practice it reaches beyond the Golden State’s borders,” said Dr. Cristiano Façanha, Global Director of the Drive to Zero program. “California is sending strong signals that will accelerate the global market for zero-emission commercial vehicles. The manufacturers that sell their vehicles in California will invest aggressively in zero-emission technologies. They will, naturally, want to see as high of a return on their investment as possible. Consequently, the manufacturers will bring their zero-emission technologies to other global markets.”

Also in the United States and shortly after ACT’s adoption, governors from 15 US states - California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington - and the District of Columbia agreed to collaboratively develop strategies to build strong markets for zero-emission commercial vehicles to be 30 percent of new purchases by 2030.

“This multi-region, bipartisan commitment demonstrates the groundswell of support zero-emission commercial vehicles enjoy across the United States. A growing number of policymakers are understanding the viability of the technology. And they appreciate advancing zero-emission commercial vehicles provides enormous air quality benefits to low income communities,” said Bill Van Amburg, Executive Vice President of CALSTART. For more information about the Multi-State Medium- and Heavy-duty Zero-Emission Vehicle Memorandum of Understanding, visit NESCAUM’s website.

At CEM10 in Vancouver last year, Drive to Zero announced Canada as the first national government to commit to sign Drive to Zero’s pledge. Today, Canada and China, as co-leads of the Clean Energy Ministerial’s Electric Vehicle Initiative, will welcome multiple additional national governments to Drive to Zero.

Other Drive to Zero pledge partners working to accelerate the zero-emission commercial vehicle market include top manufacturers, fleets, government, infrastructure and other leaders like BYD, New Flyer Industries, Arrival, IKEA’s Ingka Group, Ryder, Black and Veatch, Siemens, the California Air Resources Board, the cities of New York, Los Angeles, Oslo, Vancouver and many others.  

Drive to Zero pledge partners share information, identify best practices, work collaboratively to eliminate barriers, and coordinate among stakeholders to grow the zero-emission commercial vehicle market globally via strong and supportive policies, incentives and investments.

“Private sector leaders who understand the jobs, economic, health, and environmental benefits zero-emission vehicles deliver are not content to wait and watch the market. Corporate giants like IKEA and Ryder have set strong commitments for fleet electrification – beyond what public policy requires – and manufacturers are expanding to supply the vehicles they require,” said Dr. Façanha.

Drive to Zero’s goal is to drive market viability for the zero-emission commercial vehicle sector in key urban communities by 2025 and achieve full market penetration by 2040. It is built upon a technology strategy, called the beachhead strategy, that identifies the commercial vehicle market segments where zero- and near-zero emission technology can succeed first. Those early successes drive pathways into new segments where the technology can flourish next.