California Electric Vehicle Firm Vies for USPS Truck Fleet Contract

ZAP, a Santa Rosa, Calif.-based Electric Vehicle (EV) automotive company has received a pre-qualification notice from the United States Postal Service for its next generation of energy efficient delivery trucks.

Earlier this month, USPS selected ZAP as a pre-qualifier for the development of its Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV). The selection was a result of a Request for Information sought by USPS for its delivery trucks that was issued in January. The purpose of the request was to inform prospective suppliers about the Postal Service’s preliminary draft specifications and plans for the acquisition of the NGDV fleet replacements.

The Postal Service operates a fleet of more than 200,000 vehicles in all areas of the United States and its territories. The contract — when awarded to a single supplier — calls for delivery of an initial minimum of 3,000 vehicles by January of 2018.

ZAP had been working with USPS since 2009 on the initial proposal for clean energy vehicles. After several years of trial, USPS decided last year that this program to adopt clean energy vehicles should be done with completely new trucks or vans more suitably designed to be powered by clean energy. This latest Request for Information pre-qualified ZAP to participate in the formal response for proposal and to begin a trial with the new product in first quarter 2016.

ZAP Jonway is working with several large truck manufacturers and is in the process of finalizing its partnerships to support the repurposing of the truck’s body to meet the specifications for this USPS opportunity. ZAP Jonway hopes to utilize this repurposed clean energy truck, which will have models in both electric as well as Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to expand into the U.S. clean energy delivery fleet market.

After receiving approval for the products for the USPS, ZAP hopes to target potentially other similar delivery companies interested in the same kind of products for their fleets.

Could plug-in vehicles save the U.S. Postal Service?

With the United States Postal Service facing financial woes, Infrastructurist claims to have found a plugged-in solution that will keep the centuries-old, Constitution-formed government agency alive and kicking: four tips that, if successful, would make Benjamin Franklin* proud. Here's an abbreviated look at tip number one:

The USPS currently operates the largest civilian vehicle fleet in the world, with an estimated 218,684 vehicles. In 2009, these vehicles used an average of 444 million gallons of fuel, at a cost of $1.1 billion. Every penny increase in the average cost of gas costs the USPS an extra $8 million, according to a USPS official. The good news: In 2009, the USPS got 6,500 hybrid cars. That leaves only 212,184 to go!

So, a switch to hybrids – or even better still, plug-in vehicles – could save the USPS millions. While likely true, the U.S. Postal Service is no stranger to plug-ins. In fact, the Postal Service has been plugging in for more than 100 years and it all started back in July 1899 in the New York city of Buffalo when an electric carriage replaced a far slower horse-drawn wagon and doubled the speed of mail collection. Adding more plug-in vehicles to the fleet won't make mail arrive twice as fast, but it could save the government a lot of money. Given some calls to shut the USPS down or limit service, saving money could do something more impressive: keep the mail moving at all.



Source: Autoblog Green

Corporate Vehicle Fleet Managers Looking To Add EV's

Fleet managers rated rising, volatile fuel prices as their top concern for 2011, over driver safety and cost savings, according to a survey conducted by General Electric Capital Fleet Services during the 2011 NAFA Institute and Expo. The survey shows that 28% of the 105 corporate fleet managers they questioned will introduce electric vehicles into their fleets within a year, possibly as one solution to the spike in gas prices.

Fleet vehicle heavy hitters like Ryder, UPS, FedEx (and even the USPS!) already boast EVs in their fleets. Back in November, General Electric Co. (GE) pledged to purchase 25,000 electric vehicles for its own fleet and for global fleet customers by 2015- almost have of which will be purchased from General Motors Co. The first model will be the Chevrolet Volt- which has been earning rave reviews from owners.

While 25,000 vehicles may be a drop in the bucket, Deb Frodl, Chief Strategy Officer for GE Capital Fleet Services, claims that GE might be in a “strong position” to promote EV adoption and growth, presumably by example. GE owns one of the largest fleets, operates a global fleet management business, and offers a multitude of EV-related products that may contribute to the development of an EV infrastructure. There are also now more plug-in and electric vehicle options for fleet managers to choose from than just five years ago, giving the market more choice in which direction they choose to go.

Source: Gas2.0

Bright Automotive Awarded Contract for Electric Postal Delivery Vehicle

The Ubiquitous USPS LLV







The USPS has been in the news lately due to a budgetary crisis and their reliance upon government loans that are nearing the maximum allowable amounts. One of the solutions being proposed is a five day work week, eschewing Saturdays. This scenario is obviously unpopular with the public. Our postal service needs to dig deeper and come up with a better answer for cutting costs.

We think the USPS is long overdue for an alternate energy fleet. Especially appealing is the utilization of electric delivery vans for urban use. The average long life vehicle (LLV) travels about 20 miles a day and gets 10 mpg. Atrocious. A small to medium sized battery pack can easily meet the needs of these LLV's. Let's replace this entire fleet with EV's and eliminate the need for gasoline, the need for costly ICE maintenance and eliminate the pollution. The perfect scenario for this trasformation is our letter carrier fleet. They use the LLV's during the day and then plug them in overnight. Throw in some solar roof panels at the Post Office and you have a great renewable, low cost solution.

What are the odds of this scenario being fulfilled?

From Green Car Congress:

Bright Automotive, the developer of the purpose-built, plug-in hybrid IDEA (earlier post), has been awarded one of five contracts by the United States Postal Service (USPS) to develop and test an electric postal delivery vehicle. Under the contract, Bright Automotive’s eSolutions team (earlier post) will retrofit a standard USPS Long Life Vehicle (LLV) with an integrated electric drive train, and place the vehicle in real-world service for one year in the Washington DC area.

Other awards have gone to ZAP (earlier post); Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc. (earlier post); AC Propulsion and AutoPort (earlier post); and Germany-based international transportation engineering firm EDAG, with whom Bright eSolutions is also collaborating. Thus, Bright eSolutions is providing powertrain hardware and software support for two of the five contracts awarded under the program.

Some of the same enabling technology developed on the IDEA will be directly applied to the EV propulsion conversion of the LLV. As an example, Bright said, applying the rear electric drive of the IDEA PHEV powertrain to the LLV positions Bright Automotive’s conversion with proven production-intent technology.

The Bright eSolutions retrofit LLV is fully electric and is capable of covering a high percentage of existing postal service routes. After delivery to the USPS in July 2010, the vehicle will go into service in the metro Washington DC area for at least one year.

The USPS currently operates 142,000 LLVs, which average less than 20 miles of driving per day and have an average fuel economy of only 10 mpg.

The IDEA, Bright noted, is now scheduled for production in 2013. At the reveal of the IDEA in April 2009, Bright had said that high volume production of the IDEA would begin in the US by the end of 2012, with an annual run rate of 50,000 units beginning in 2013.

ZAP Will Provide Electric Mail Truck For USPS

The Current ZAP Electric Pickup









The United States Postal Service (USPS) wants to electrify its fleet and Zap motors might just to do the trick. This week, the California-based company announced they are engineering an all-electric truck prototype for the mail delivery service. Full details are still unclear but U.S. Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey will tour the Zap EV facility next week “to learn more about how this federal program is creating local jobs.” The truck will not be the Xebra pictured above but a “conversion of a gasoline postal truck to run on electricity.”

In fact, USPS has awarded contracts to many California-based firms. They’re part of an effort to electrify all 142,000 USPS trucks. AC Propulsion Inc. of San Dimas is another hopeful for the postal service’s initiative to be more environmentally friendly.

“We will get the vehicles back in June or July and put them into service in the Washington, D.C., area, where we can monitor their cost and reliability,” said Joseph McGrath, a program manager at the postal service’s vehicle engineering division in Merrifield, Va.

Source: Gas2.0

U.S. Postal Service Delivering Green, Looking At Alternate Energy Delivery Systems

The All-Electric Three-Wheeled T3 Delivery Vehicle









The US Postal Service is the ideal candidate for implementing fleet-wide alternate energy vehicles. Think about all the little gasoline driven white vans you see in your neighborhood delivering the mail. These trucks/vans rarely drive more than 35 mph and less than 40 miles, which makes them perfect for electric propulsion. After the shift, they can be returned to the post office and plugged in overnight. Also, we now see the implementation of electric T3's, which are three wheeled vehicles that have very low costs in terms of dollars per mile driven. Let's hope that the Postal Service can make the switch and lead the world in implementing an alternate energy fleet.

From Gas2.0:

If you’re going to deliver half the world’s mail, you might as well do it with fuel-efficient vehicles, and, of course, deliver it on foot in as many communities around the country as you can.

While stymied by financial losses ($3.8 billion in 2008), the US Postal Service continues to commit resources and practice innovation when it comes to adopting fuel efficient delivery vehicles. After all, they had an all-electric delivery vehicle on the road – in 1899 (manufactured by the Winton Company).

Today, three-wheel electric vehicles, called T3s (seen to the left), are being tested as possible replacements for traditional gasoline delivery vehicles in Florida, California, Texas and Arizona. The T3 has a range of 40 miles, a maximum speed of 12 mph and a load capacity of 450 pounds. Powered by two rechargeable modules, the T3 has zero tailpipe emissions and costs 4 cents a mile to operate.

The U.S. Postal Service has also purchased all-electric two-ton step Solectria CitiVans from Solectria Corporation (now Azure Dynamics) for use in New York City. The CitiVans feature a 125kW/165 hp Solectria AC induction motor and single-speed automatic direct-drive with regenerative braking. The CitiVan has a range of 40 miles and top speed of 60 mph. It’s quite an improvement from my Seabring-Vanguard CitiCar.

To keep up with the pace of change, as of August of 2009, the US Postal Service started testing the Azure Dynamics’ Balance Hybrid Electric two-ton step van in Long Island, New York. The Balance Hybrid Electric vehicle uses a drive system for Ford’s E-450 chassis with a Morgan Olson body.

“USPS is the only federal agency with a dedicated Office of Sustainability,” said Scott Harrison, CEO of Azure Dynamics. “The organization has demonstrated its strong commitment to sustainability by publicly stating its goal of decreasing petroleum usage by 20% over the next five years while also lessening its environmental impact. Our Azure Balance Hybrid Electric can be instrumental in helping USPS achieve these goals.”

The U.S. Postal Service also operates the largest civilian fleet of alternative fuel-capable vehicles (43,000), mostly flexfuel vehicles capable of burning E85 (okay, it’s hardly perfect given our current understanding of the benefits of burning ethanol, but such steps are better than doing nothing). The USPS is experimenting with hydrogen vehicles, too.

Truth be told, their “fleet of feet” of USPS carriers making their rounds door-to-door remains one of the most ecologically sound ways of getting the mail through. The challenge here, however, is managing labor costs on almost 10,000 mail delivery routes every day. Mail is also delivered by bicycle in some parts of Arizona and Florida.

The U.S. Postal Service, an independent federal agency, serves as the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 149 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes, six days a week. It has 34,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. In a separate post, I’ll explore why this may be contributing to the challenges that now face the agency, exacerbated by the fact that more people twitter and e-mail these days than send a hand-written note or signed Christmas card.

Historically, the U.S. Postal Service has championed new modes of transportation in its ongoing effort to provide reliable and universal mail delivery. Yet, the U.S. Postal Service has a big impact on the health of our planet with the largest civilian vehicle fleet in the world: nearly 220,000 vehicles traveling more than 1.2 billion miles a year.

Given all the challenges facing the long term financial viability of the U.S. Postal Service, further complicated by climate change and rising energy costs, there may come a time where some deliveries may once again be made by horse or, perhaps, not at all on certain days of the week – the ultimate in reducing both energy use and carbon emissions.

USPS To Electrify Some LLV's With Help Of Tanfield Group

A Gasoline Powered LLV





Following is a press release from Tanfield that describes its efforts to electrify the long life vehicles (LLV's) that are used to deliver mail. We see these vehicles everywhere during the day and it only makes sense to use electric propulsion considering the low overall range these vans need to drive every day. Once the shift is over, the letter carrier parks the vehicle, plugs it in and it will be ready again in the morning.

SEV US Corp to develop jointly with AM General, a prototype electric postal delivery vehicle for the US Postal Service
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SEV US Corp customers win additional $4.5m Federal grant funding for 65 Smith trucks through the Clean City Program
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Strong demand for Newton electric truck: SEV US Corp order book now stands 255 trucks
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Tanfield confirmed as largest supplier to UK's Low Carbon Vehicle Procurement Programme
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Renewed focus on production ready medium duty electric vans and light duty trucks (Newton and Edison)
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Withdrawal from electric car-derived van development : Termination of US Ford Transit Connect project

Tanfield is pleased to announce further developments from its associate company, Smith Electric Vehicles US Corp ("SEV US Corp").

SEV US Corp, together with AM General, a leading manufacturer of military and commercial vehicles, headquartered in South Bend, Indiana, USA, is developing a prototype electric version of the gasoline-powered Long Life Vehicle for the United States Postal Service ("USPS"). There are currently approximately 178,000 Long Life Vehicles in service with the USPS. AM General will manufacture the chassis and SEV US Corp will supply the electric drive train, including the motor, battery pack, electronics and ancillary systems.

Darren Kell, CEO of The Tanfield Group Plc, said: "With AM General we combine a global leader in specialist vehicles with a world leader in electric vehicle integration. The goal is to deliver an electric vehicle that is perfect for the United States Postal Service; a vehicle that is energy efficient, cost-effective, reduces US reliance on oil and lowers greenhouse gas emissions."

As announced on 6 August 2009, SEV US Corp won $10m in grant funding from the US Department of Energy (DoE), to facilitate its growth towards volume production and to build a demonstration fleet of electric trucks. In addition, SEV US Corp customers have been awarded funding for 65 Smith Newton electric trucks, amounting to $4.5m, through the US Clean Cities Program. SEV US Corp is applying for more funding through the US Government "green vehicles" programmes.

SEV US Corp has commenced production of the Smith Newton electric truck platform at its assembly facility in Kansas City, Missouri. Appetite for the Smith Newton truck is strong in North America and SEV US Corp now has an order book of 255 trucks.

some of the USPS LLV fleet. We see these long lasting vehicles (LLV) everywhere as they make their rounds in the neighborhood. The urban and even suburban letter carries that use a truck are a no-brainer when it comes to electrical propulsion. The vehicle is returned to the Post Office after a shift and plugged in overnight where it is ready for duty the next day.

Chrysler Proposes Four All-Electric Minvans for use with USPS

Chrysler unveiled four all-electric Chrysler Town & Country minivan concepts to the US Postal Service (USPS) in Washington, DC, as part of the USPS Earth Day celebration. Chrysler LLC, in conjunction with the USPS and select energy service providers, also announced that the company intends to apply for the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Transportation Electrification stimulus program for a federal grant, which would enable Chrysler to establish a nationwide demonstration fleet of zero-emission electric minivans that could be used by the US Postal Service for mail delivery.

One of the electric mini-van prototypes. Click to enlarge.

Chrysler’s ENVI group leveraged the flexibility of its electric-vehicle strategy to demonstrate an all-electric version of its best-selling minivan. These electric minivan concepts are targeted specifically for use by the US Postal Service for mail delivery.

Because robust grid integration is essential for widespread customer acceptance of electric vehicles, Chrysler has enlisted the involvement of key utility partners, including Duke, ConEd and DTE. Each has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Chrysler to equip post offices in strategically selected regions of the United States with a charging infrastructure for the envisioned program. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) also has signed an LOI to provide USPS integration tools.

The USPS is a perfect candidate for the electrification of its delivery fleet. Most routes in urban areas consist of start and stop driving covering a limited range. A modest battery pack would certainly meet the needs of most routes.

Earlier this month, Chrysler announced A123Systems as one of its strategic partners and production battery supplier for the company’s initial production electric vehicles. Chrysler LLC and A123Systems signed an agreement stating that A123Systems will supply energy storage systems for Chrysler’s first-generation ENVI Range-extended Electric Vehicles and battery-only Electric Vehicles.

If Chrysler can ride out the current economic storm, then USPS would surely benefit by an alliance that provides alternate energy vehicles for its fleet.

Source: Green Car Congress