Good day,
Those mourning the demise of James Dyson’s electric car project can take solace in the news that H2Haul, an ambitious European Union-backed initiative evaluating the use of hydrogen vehicles to cut carbon emissions from logistics, has officially launched.
The project, which has received €12 million in funding from the European Commission, will design, build and test three new types of fuel cell electric heavy-duty trucks. Participating companies include energy suppliers as well as manufacturers that will develop and build the truck models. Supermarket chains will test the trucks in their daily logistics operations.
“There is a growing need for zero emission vehicles across all transport modes,” said Ben Madden, director of Element Energy, which is coordinating the project, in a statement. The H2Haul project “is strategically important as it brings together several leading suppliers who will develop and test the vehicles and infrastructure required for hydrogen-fueled HGVs to become a mainstream choice for logistics providers seeking to reduce the environmental impact of their operations.”
H2Haul will take place at 16 sites across Belgium, France, Germany and Switzerland.
Did you know?
Nearly 65,900 acres of pumpkins were harvested in the U.S. in 2018, producing more than 1.5 billion pounds of usable pumpkins with more than 2 billion produced overall. The top nine states together (Illinois, California, Ohio, Indiana, Texas, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina and New York) produced nearly 75% of the total.
Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
Quotable
“Trucking is a business where you can pick and choose where you want to go and when you want to work. I think this is an attraction for Hispanics to get into the business. “The market is very hot. If you work hard, you can make money and be successful in this business. Show up on time and do your work. Your name will get recognized, and you would get loads to haul all the time.”
Hispanic fleet owner Sandra Alzate, on why Hispanics are drawn to trucking (FreightWaves)
In other news
China’s e-commerce business rose in September, JD.com survey shows
Volumes in the western and northeastern parts of the country declined while the eastern and central regions rebounded. (Xinhua)
A granular map of auto and freight emissions in the U.S.
A New York Times data visualization shows a year’s worth of CO2 from passenger and freight traffic on every road in the U.S. (NewYorkTimes)
Mail carriers in France asked to check in on elderly
Carriers for La Poste have a new job: checking in on the aged. (TheNewYorker)
Amazon vs. Walmart: the showdown
Amazon’s online reach appears limitless, but Walmart is fortifying its defenses with stores and warehouses Amazon has yet to match. (InstitutionalInvestor)
Final thoughts,
Self-driving vehicle leader Waymo told users of its autonomous ride-hailing service, Waymo One, that it plans to start giving rides in vehicles without safety drivers. Meanwhile autonomous trucking company Ike filed what is believed to be the first safety self-assessment conducted by an autonomous company before it started testing the vehicles on public roads. Managing safety is the top priority for the industry, but companies are making very different bets on how consumers and businesses will react in these early years to rolling out the self-driving technology in the public realm.
Hammer down, everyone!
