National Coalition of Heavy Truck Leaders Calls for Major Federal Role, Investments to Support U.S. Leadership in Zero-Emission Trucks
The National Zero-Emission Truck (ZET) Coalition, representing America’s major heavy truck makers, innovators, suppliers and key stakeholders, has released its priority federal recommendations to support this critical sector. The recommendations call for an increased federal role and funding to ensure U.S. tech leadership in this clean air technology, including a national point-of-sale incentive program to help drive the near-term production of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs), including clean trucks and buses, in the United States.
Read the original release here.
The Coalition, organized by clean transportation industry organization CALSTART, is also urging that federal funding be targeted at commercial zero-emission vehicle charging and refueling infrastructure and that federal innovation investments be increased for zero-emission technologies to secure U.S. competitiveness over the next decade.
“America has the power to lead in the expanding, zero-emission truck market,” said Bill Van Amburg, Executive Vice President of CALSTART. “But we must take an active role. Other nations are investing aggressively. Our industry coalition believes a strong federal partnership can create jobs that also clean our nation’s air, foster innovation and solidify American competitiveness in this global field.”
High-tech, zero-emission commercial vehicles are in development or early production in most weight classes and global demand is on the rise. For the U.S. to remain competitive and to jumpstart zero-emission truck production in this time of economic crisis, the ZET Coalition recommends targeting $2+ billion for point-of-sale purchase incentives. This structure has a proven track record at the state level of helping fleets quickly procure zero-emission commercial vehicles and has proven successful in jumpstarting domestic clean MHDV manufacturing. While there are tax credits for zero-emission cars, the U.S. currently does not provide direct incentive support for the production of larger clean commercial vehicles – all the more critical with these vehicles’ outsized impact on current transportation emissions. The recommended investment could transform the domestic ZET industry, build a strong domestic supply chain that provides high quality manufacturing jobs, and dramatically improve air quality in cities and along congested freight corridors.
Closely coupled with this proven policy tool to drive zero-emission vehicle production and sales, the Coalition is advocating for corresponding investments in charging and refueling infrastructure to support these vehicles, both battery electric and fuel cell electric. Finally, the group is recommending an additional $250 million per year over five years in funding for innovation through research, development, and demonstration programs that would support transportation electrification investment in ZETs; their component and manufacturing processes; and infrastructure management, scaling, and expansion.
The ZET Coalition believes federal leadership is critical. MHDVs contribute about 60% of air pollution in major metropolitan areas and account for approximately 22 percent of energy use in the U.S. transportation sector – a figure that is growing with the rapid rise in e-commerce.
The recommended federal investments would enable the production of tens of thousands of zero-emission commercial vehicles by 2025, support domestic manufacturer jobs, promote technology leadership and U.S. competitiveness, and help improve the air and quality of life of the communities most impacted by dirtier heavy-duty vehicle emissions.
Coalition members include:
ABB * ADOMANI * Arrival * Bollinger Motors * BYD * CALSTART * Chanje * ChargePoint * Cummins * Daimler * Eaton * Environmental Defense Fund * eNow * Lion Electric * Mack Trucks * Morgan Olson * Motiv Power Systems * Navistar * Nikola Corporation * Odyne Systems * PACCAR * Proterra * Revolv * Rivian * SDG&E * South Coast AQMD * Tesla * TransPower * Viatec * Volvo Trucks