In October, RMI and trucking industry leaders launched the North American Council for Freight Efficiency to look holistically at the opportunities to double trucking efficiency by changing operations and employing technologies that are available now.
The NACFE aims to drive the adoption of efficient technologies by working with industry stakeholders to establish and communicate credible and performance-based benefits.
Kawai said the NACFE can help ensure the DOE funding is put to good use by by providing understanding to both companies and consumers: categorizing the pipeline, evaluating performance and helping guide development.
"If you produce something the industry will not accept, you fall short of your end-goal," she asserted. "Ultimately, the greatest fossil-fuel reduction will come from a technology that the market demands, trusts and is incentivized to implement."
Greater Reward from Integrated Solutions
According to Chu, $100 million will be funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and that the winning projects "will create over 500 jobs, primarily researchers, engineers and managers."
Kawai and Simpson point out that an integrated approach may yield benefits extending beyond the initial "tech" jobs.
"Technology providers will only hire so many people," Simpson said. "Integrated solutions however cause snowballing benefits."
If efficient technologies are brought to commercialization in a way that is affordable, he continued, the industry has a boost in overall profitability and increases their profit-margin. This stabilizes the entire freight transportation marketplace, which traditionally has been volatile. Predictability allows companies to invest in efficiency. Increased demand equals more jobs for not only innovators, but mechanics, installers and drivers.
"Ultimately, we will see the greatest payoff if we can get collaboration between all stakeholders," says Kawai. "We all need to get on the same page and work together now, while the money is on the table. It is the only way to achieve transformation."
Kelly Vaughn is an analyst with Rocky Mountain Institute's Communications Department where she focuses on communications strategy and initiative development. She has her MA in Communications from University of Dubuque and has extensive experience in social marketing and PR.
Images courtesy of RMI.
green trucks to reduce carbon footprints
the thing is that hybrids and alternate fuels have to become a mainstream attractive proposition , the environment is too burdened and cannot bear the weight of fossil fuel carbon footprints too much longer, so great that green trucks are roaring ahead
Seems to be a legislation issue to me.
Walmart has been pushing to half the transport truck fuel used to move cargo to stores. You can: a) try to improve fuel efficiency through the use of hugely complex engine additions and air flow improvement etc. or b) couple two(+) trailers to one tractor unit. Here in Saskatchewan, land trains are permitted for use on divided highway up to 3 complete trailers (11 trailer axles + tractor @ +230,000lbs). More common are twin trailer setups like the ones use by Bison Transport for Walmart and other retailers http://www.bisontransport.com/BisonWeb2007/news/2009/Shippers_Choice_Awa...
Compare that to neighbouring Minnesota that allows a maximum of one trailer and a maximum GVW of 80,000lbs regardless of axle configuration. Change the transport laws and fuel consumption per ton of cargo will plummet.
Nice, but...
Kelly's thesis is fine - one must include all stakeholders and come up with technologies and practices that will actually be adopted if we are to succeed. Yawn.
Like so many blog posts there is no beef here. How about sharing some of the actual technologies and practices? How about a picture of a cool looking truck?
If we are to get people and industry excited we need to be excited, not put to sleep.
Green Trucking
Why is there no talk of natural gas as a bridge fuel to the future? In country, easier to convert, more economical
greener and it works NOW.