UPS selected to deploy zero-emission vehicles in Houston

The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) and the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) announced an award of project funding to UPS, in partnership with AMP Holding Inc., to deploy 18 Workhorse E-100 All Electric Walk-In Vans with 100 kwh battery packs in the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria area. The goal for this project is to demonstrate the capability of all-electric delivery vehicles to perform at the same level of operation as similarly sized diesel delivery vehicles, while also significantly reducing vehicle emissions and petroleum consumption.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) awarded a grant to H-GAC with an objective to accelerate the introduction and penetration of electric transportation technologies into the cargo transport sector. DOE selected this project to demonstrate technologies to improve local air quality in the Houston-Galveston area, which is currently designated as a National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) eight-hour ozone non-attainment area.

H-GAC is soliciting additional project partners to deploy at least another 12 zero-emission delivery vehicles in the greater Houston area. Interested fleets can find out more at: http://www.h-gac.com/purchasing/rfp/trn14-06.aspx

CTE, a nonprofit and leader in alternative transportation technology deployments, will manage the two-year demonstration project, collect operational data and report on the project’s impact. The combined efforts of project partners will help further DOE’s objective of developing the market for all-electric heavy-duty fleet transportation technologies.