Freight Efficiency with NACFE‘s Mike Roeth & Friends

Ep. 60: Chet Ciesielski, vice president, on-highway truck business, International, talks about how International works with customers when it comes to fuel economy, his thoughts on the vocational business, how hydrogen fuel cells will play a part in long-haul, and why the industry needs to work together to harness the momentum of electrification.

Anthony Eggert, senior director of transportation, Climate Works Foundation, talks about his first zero-emission vehicle — a go-kart. He also talks about the audacious goals of the Drive Electric Campaign, the importance of working together across businesses to achieve goals to speed the scaling of EVs and how failing fast can lead to success. He shares the success of EV adoption in Norway and Shenzhen, China and reminds us that it will take both the supply side and the demand side to enable the rapid transition to EVs.

Alison Conway, associate professor at The City College of New York, talks about the challenges of goods movement in dense urban environments, the impact of e-commerce on freight delivery, the shift in vehicles engaged in goods movement, using data to better understand what is happening in e-commerce. She also talks about the fact we are going to see new methods of modeling that bring together things that used to be separate and how freight efficiency can be improved by addressing what’s happening off the vehicle.

Jose “Pepe” Gutierrez, who is leading NACFE’s efforts in Mexico, talks about the similarities and differences between the US and Mexican truck markets, last mile delivery, electric vehicle deployments in Mexico and what is preventing more widespread adoption of EV. He also talks about the work NACFE LATAM is doing to help Mexican fleets operate in a more fuel-efficient manner.

Kevin Beaty, principal consultant, YUNEV LLC, talks about his involvement in the early days of NACFE, the messy middle, lessons learned over the last 20 years, and the difference in sourcing batteries for passenger cars and trucks He also comments on the path forward for trucking, how e-mobility is one of the exciting places to work and he offers some advice to everyone involved in EV development.

Venkatesan Murali, founder and chief technology officer at Merlin Solar, talks about informed risk taking, how he got into solar, why commercial transportation is a key space for solar and how he learned to speak the language of trucking. He also explains the importance of articulating the ROI equation and providing hard data to fleets. He shares his thoughts on solar’s applicability to electric vehicles and about being open minded as we navigate to the future.

Sean Larkin, director of sales and business development at Amply Power, talks about charging management, why electricity rates change based on time of use and demand, charging as a service, and how we’ve moved from the chicken or the egg discussion to the chicken and waffles discussion when it comes to EVs. He also talks about the importance of bringing all stakeholders together to help scale vehicle electrification and the need to focus on service and maintenance of chargers.

Jennifer Wheeler, senior program manager at NACFE, talks about her career at Walmart, how to adjust operations to accommodate new technologies, what excites her about her work with NACFE, her passion to be of service to the trucking industry, and NACFE’s report on electric vans and step vans. She also encourages fleets to talk with each other about what they are doing in the area of electrification and how important it is for them to be part of the solution.

Diane Newton, an associate vice president at HNTB, talks about the company’s role in transforming how freight gets move and intelligent transportation systems She also shares takeaways from the Columbus, Ohio Smart City project, talks about the I70 truck automation corridor project and encourages everyone to stay engaged and understand the role of technology in transportation.

Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum, talks about why the organization was formed and the purpose it still serves.  He also talks about how his childhood influenced his interest in air quality, the apples to oranges comparison of passenger cars and commercial vehicles, why diesel will continue to be the dominant fuel for the next several decades and the things that can be done to make diesel even cleaner than it is today.