8/27/2023 0 Comments Act expo logo![]() ![]() He warned attendees that – despite its incredible successes with recent new technologies – the North American trucking industry is still not doing enough to meet the arduous emissions targets ahead. Just a year after its acquisition by VW’s Traton Truck Group, Navistar’s new CEO, Mathias Carlbaum took the stage as keynote speaker on ACT Expo’s second day, with full-throated support for trucking’s path to net zero by 2050. Navistar intends to be an alt fuel/BEV player. Moreover, several industry speakers, notably Cummins CEO Tom Linebarger, warned attendees that in reality, the need was to create and/or upgrade multiple infrastructures to support multiple fuels and powertrain technologies – an undertaking, he cautioned, that will cost multiple trillions of dollars to accomplish. ![]() With new battery-electric vehicles finally ready to enter into production, and other developing alternative fuel technologies, such as hydrogen fuel cells, proceeding at a fast clip, the mood at the show seemed more focused on the challenges of delivering vehicles and helping fleets put them to work in real-world operations around the country.Īs was the case last year, there was a continued emphasis on the lagging infrastructure component for both electric vehicles and zero-emission fuels such as natural gas and hydrogen.Ĭummins CEO Tom Linebarger speaks to ACT Expo attendees during his keynote address on May 11, 2022. A more somber mood takes hold.ĪCT Expo 2022 seemed to have a more serious tone to it, compared to the almost giddy atmosphere that has permeated the show over the past couple of years. The new Cummins X15H engine has reframed the discussion about the role internal combustion engines will play in trucking’s push to net zero carbon emissions.Ĭummins officials noted that the engine has already delivered impressive early results, achieving production power and torque targets (over 810 ft-lbs torque and 290 hp from the company’s medium-duty engine).ĬlearFlame showcased its engine modification technology, which enables existing heavy-duty engines to run on a range of renewable fuels in place of diesel fuel. Through better thermal management, ClearFlame's tech enables these alternative liquid fuels to behave like diesel fuel, with no loss of efficiency or power. For their first trucks, they've chosen ethanol based on its lower emissions, lower cost, and widespread availability. If there was an overarching theme at ACT Expo this year, it was – weirdly enough – the reemergence of the humble (and lately vilified) internal combustion engine as a player on the alternative fuel stage. Don’t count the internal combustion engine out, yet. Here are my five main take-aways from ACT Expo 2022. And several new themes emerged during its run, which I think strongly indicate where the next round of alternative fuel/powertrain technology is headed in trucking’s quest to achieve zero net carbon emissions by 2050. And that’s certainly true for an important show like the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo (ACT Expo), which attracts exhibitors and attendees from around the globe, eager to showcase and see the latest in advanced fuel, powertrain and commercial vehicle technology.ĪCT Expo 2022 ran from May 9 to May 12 in Long Beach, California. Trade shows are an excellent place to get a sense of where trucking is headed, be it on a local, national, international or global scale. ![]() Two Einride autonomous trucks dominated the entrance to the 2022 ACT Expo show floor – adding a definite futuristic feel to exhibit hall from the get-go. ![]()
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