Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - June 2022 - 2

EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL
Bill Visnic
Editorial Director
Bill.Visnic@sae.org
Alternatives poised for growth as diesel prices climb
Fuel prices are soaring. Not breaking
news, I know, yet the almost-daily
alerts citing new record highs for gasoline
and diesel prices are still unsettling.
Consumers and fleets alike are
feeling the pinch at the pumps.
Diesel fuel prices are at an all-time high,
hitting an average $5.623 per gallon on
May 9 - up nearly $2.44 compared to the
same time a year ago, according to the
U.S. Energy Information Administration.
And national average prices at the pump
were 19% higher in 2021 than in 2020, a
factor that improves the economics for
alternative fuels and propulsion systems,
states this year's State of Sustainable
Fleets market report authored by cleantechnology
consulting firm Gladstein,
Neandross & Associates (GNA).
" We are seeing an incredible acceleration
in the investment being made
from all sides of the alternative-fuel
vehicle market driven by increasing
commitments to environmental sustainability
and carbon reduction and to find
more cost-effective transportation options
given today's record-breaking
gasoline and diesel fuel prices, " said
Erik Neandross, CEO of GNA. " In every
sector, fleets are increasingly turning to
a spectrum of advanced clean-vehicle
technologies and low-carbon fuels to
not only meet their sustainability goals
but improve their fleet's bottom line. "
Released at the ACT Expo in Long
Beach, California, the report found that
nearly 85% of the almost 250 U.S.-based
fleets surveyed plan to grow their use of
clean-vehicle technologies over the next
five years. Increased adoption is being
driven by record levels of government
funding and legislative support at state
and federal levels, the 2022 report states.
Available public incentives for clean fuels
and vehicles will increase to about $20
billion annually across more than 230
programs over the next few years, according
to the report - nearly seven
times the previous average of $3 billion.
A key finding in State of Sustainable
Fleets is that fleet demand for battery2
June 2022
electric vehicles (BEVs) is " enormous "
and continues to exceed availability.
Scheduled medium- and heavy-duty
BEV deployments are expected to increase
from dozens to hundreds within
the next two years. The school-bus sector
in the U.S. already is experiencing
early scale, the report noted, with nearly
1,800 battery-electric buses ordered
or deployed by more than 350 school
fleets to date. An emerging trend is vehicle
OEMs becoming more involved in
the battery-electric ecosystem, providing
value-add services to fleets to make
the transition easier.
Compressed natural gas (CNG) and
propane remain more-affordable options,
as fleets continue to see significant
fuel savings compared to diesel.
Transit buses, straight trucks (including
refuse) and Class 8 tractors are driving
CNG vehicle sales, leading growth in
registrations of natural gas vehicles by
3% from 2020 to 2021, the report found.
Propane-powered trucks are most often
used in smaller fleets run by states,
counties, and municipalities.
Another key finding: Renewable diesel
(RD) growth is very strong. By 2025, U.S.
production capacity for RD is forecasted
to exceed 5 billion gallons annually - a
sixfold increase from 2021 and enough
to support 10% of the country's current
diesel demand, according to the report.
And then there's hydrogen. Orders
quadrupled for heavy-duty fuel cell vehicles
in 2021, totaling 143, led by transit,
the report found. Dozens of grantfunded
fuel cell electric tractors are
now on order by fleets. No public hydrogen
stations were open outside of
California in 2021, but an additional 57
stations, primarily for light-duty hydrogen
vehicles, are planned for California
and other states in the next few years.
Many of these diesel alternatives are
detailed throughout this issue. Reading
more about the great strides being
made perhaps can provide some solace
the next time you're at the pump.
Ryan Gehm, Editor-in-Chief
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
Ryan Gehm
Editor-in-Chief
Ryan.Gehm@sae.org
Lindsay Brooke
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Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - June 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - June 2022
