Carpool Chats (Fuels Institute)

Reducing carbon emissions from the U.S. transportation section will be a challenge requiring the utilization of a range of solutions. With combustion engines making up the vast majority of the fleet today and for the foreseeable future, biofuels represent one of the most practical solutions to lowering U.S. transportation emissions in the near term. But what is the future of the biofuels market? What are the policies being considered to support ethanol, biodiesel and renewable diesel and what are the barriers to biofuels adoption - things like fuel compatibility issues, feedstock availability, and vehicle fleet projections? Listen in as Stratas Advisors and Fuels Institute discuss these issues and more and look for our report coming out in spring 2022!

Hosted by:

Jeff Hove, Vice President, Fuels Institute

Based on headlines, the fast approaching death of the internal combustion engine is upon us. In addition, governments around the world have announced end dates for phasing out internal combustion engine vehicles. What are the motivating factors involved? Will electric vehicles be the sole long-term solution to reducing transportation-related carbon emissions? Jason Stein, vice president and publisher with Automotive News, joined us and provided additional global context, as well as the potential effects on consumers.

The US Department of Energy has 17 different national laboratories around the country with various missions. We spoke with Steve Przesmitzki, laboratory program manager with one of the oldest national labs, Argonne National Laboratory, to hear how the new administration will address climate change. A major focus in meeting the challenge is the decarbonization of transportation. Listen-in as Steve lets us look behind the curtain on some of the new initiatives and projects Argonne is now focused on to assist in that goal.

Deciding to install EV charging equipment on your property is a huge decision. Obviously, you need to think about the business case - how much everything will cost and how much you will charge - but more than that, you need to understand how to optimize placement of the equipment, how to work with local utilities to get it connected and how to navigate the complex permitting process. Listen in to discover the exact questions you need to ask and factors you need to consider before building a charging station on your property and read more details in our full report, "Installing and Operating Public Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure."

Hosted by:

John Eichberger, Executive Director, Fuels Institute

Has social distancing changed the projected urbanization rate? As we enter 2021, signs from the housing market show that life hasn't slowed down; however, different decisions on where to live, work and travel patterns are being affected. What will the long-term effects be on vehicle miles traveled and urban metro regions of the country? We caught up with Jeff Wood, principal at The Overhead Wire, and dug deeper on the signs the housing and e-commerce market are displaying in spite of a global pandemic.

COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of our lives, including our travel habits. Listen as Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX, shares his mobility analysis that explores transportation trends including miles-driven and travel times. Download the INRIX 2020 Global Traffic Scorecard.

Originally recorded on July 14, 2020. We realize that retail fuel operators are under enormous pressure to stay compliant in numerous areas. Many are focused on applying advanced technology to "redefine convenience," but there are other areas where retail fuel operators are applying technology to redefine aspects of their business...fueling equipment! Listen in as Jeff Hove, vice president of the Fuels Institute, sits down with Jon Kelly, Founder & CEO of Canary Compliance.

We will not be able to influence the environment through vehicle and energy options if consumers do not have access to them or decide not to purchase and use them. As part of his role at NACS, Jeff Lenard is responsible for overseeing consumer surveys that help explain what consumers want, and the critical elements that drive their decisions related to vehicle choice and driving patterns. Understanding the consumer's mindset is key to understanding what options might exist to guide consumers toward lower emission options.

With special guest:

Jeff Lenard, Vice President, Strategic Industry Initiatives, NACS

Hosted by:

John Eichberger, Executive Director, Fuels Institute

Originally recorded on June 10, 2020. Jeff Hove, Vice President of the Fuels Institute, took a deep dive into the electrification of heavy-duty vehicles through the Volvo LIGHTS project. This project looks to provide the blueprint to successfully introduce zero-emission battery electric trucks and equipment into the market at scale. He was joined in this discussion by Dawn Fenton, Vice President, Government Relations & Public Affairs with Volvo Group North America and Kimberly Okafor, Manager, Zero Emission Solutions with Trillium.

Biomass-Based Diesel (BBD) has increased its share of the diesel fuel market from 0.5% volume in 2010 to 5.0% in 2018 and is projected to reach 10% by 2022. The widespread acceptance of BBD can be attributed to its broad compatibility with the U.S. transportation fuel infrastructure and positive environmental attributes. We spent time with Dr. Tristan Brown, Associate Professor of Energy Resource Economics at SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry to learn more about the role of BBD in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. This legislation places the state of New York under a legal obligation to achieve a 100% net reduction of GHG by 2050, economy wide.

Originally recorded on July 21, 2020. COVID-19 has shown how fragile and vulnerable civilization still is. It bears rethinking our ever-growing urban concentration and dependence on high-density, centrally managed mass transit. Listen as John Eichberger, executive director of the Fuels Institute, has a great conversation with Dr. Richard Ezike, senior policy associate with The Urban Institute and learns what trends are beginning and if cities will ever return to 'normal.'

How do we make sure that we are meeting the energy and transportation needs of rural or other communities that sometimes get missed in everything we do in regards to transportation and fuels? A discussion with the Fuels Institute's new Board member, Kirk McCullick with Growmark.

With special guest:

Kirk McCullick, Executive Director, Marketing & Business Development, Growmark

Hosted by:

Jeff Hove, VP, Fuels Institute

Public charging is a significant part of the EV ownership experience. The ability to charge their vehicle conveniently, is a key factor in the broader adoption of EVs. J.D. Power released a new report, "U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Public Charging Study," that dives into the public charging experience. We spoke with Brent Gruber, senior director of global automotive with J.D. Power, to learn more about this study and the tangibles that consumers are looking for with their EV ownership experience.

Originally recorded on April 23, 2020.

Join our host, John Eichberger, executive director of the Fuels Institute, as he chats with Denton Cinquegrana and Tom Kloza of OPIS/IHS Markit. They take a deep dive into the realities of the crude oil market, specifically what led to the West Texas Intermediate crude contracts entering negative territory.

Originally recorded on May 13, 2020. Join our host, John Eichberger, executive director of the Fuels Institute, as he chats with Zander Capozzola of Argus Media and learns the sobering assessment on the status of the biofuels market and what the future might hold.

Originally recorded on September 4, 2020. Convenience stores (c-stores) looking to deploy DC Fast Chargers face multiple challenges, including the cost to deploy infrastructure, cost of energy demands, finding the right space to install, integrating with POS and other loyalty programs and maximizing the value of any assets placed on a c-store property. Executive director of the Fuels Institute, John Eichberger, spoke with LeRoy Fitzgerald, strategic sales and new markets with FreeWire Technologies to gain his perspective on the challenges c-stores face and the opportunities that potentially await.

The Fuels Institute will publish a report in early 2022 analyzing the efficacy of programs and policies aimed at supporting the installation of EV charging infrastructure. In this episode, Jonathan Norris with ICF, one of the leaders of the project, discusses what they learned about which programs seem to be the most effective and why. This episode and the upcoming report should be instrumental in guiding EVSE program designs. Listen in as ICF discusses the report in more depth and be sure to download the report from www.fuelsinstitute.org when it is made public early 2022!

In January, the Fuels Institute published the report, "Life Cycle Analysis Comparison: Electric and Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles," comparing the environmental impact of each type of vehicle from well to wheel, including their energy sources. This discussion delves deeper into how the market can decarbonize most effectively, leveraging EVs when and where they make sense while ensuring other options are deployed effectively to contribute to attaining the decarbonization objective.

Hosted by:

John Eichberger, Executive Director, Fuels Institute

The Biden administration has announced a goal to deploy half a million EV chargers by 2030 - but how many do we actually need? Where do we need them? What is the appropriate timing for installing them? And what types of chargers do we need considering the differing use cases and other factors affecting how, when and where vehicles charge? The Fuels Institute has commissioned a report by IHS Markit to answer these exact questions and this podcast provides a high level overview of the report's findings.

Hosted by:

John Eichberger, Director, Fuels Institute 

What if you didn't have to worry about where, when and how you would find your next opportunity to recharge your EV? SparkCharge thinks those barriers are a thing of the past. In an effort to improve the EV ownership experience, SparkCharge wants consumers to have their desired range delivered directly to them, whenever they want it. How? We spoke with SparkCharge founder and CEO, Joshua Aviv, to learn more about where they see the future of mobile charging going and how SparkCharge plans on leading the way.

As the world works to decarbonize the transportation energy sector, headlines tend to focus on the light-duty vehicle market. In reality, medium and heavy-duty trucks represent less than 10% of the global vehicle market, but contribute a significant share of greenhouse gas emissions to the sector's overall emissions total. John Eichberger, Executive Director of the Fuels Institute, sat down with Kimberly Okafor, Strategic Business Development Manager at Trillium, to learn how they are working to meet the challenge of decarbonizing the heavy-duty sector while maintaining the needs of today's customers.

Originally recorded on December 3, 2020. Electric vehicles are the hot topic in the current transportation-energy market. However, it wasn't so long ago that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles were top of mind for many industry observers. What's happening in the hydrogen market today? What's the future of fuel cell vehicles? We invited Bill Elrick, executive director of the California Fuel Cell Partnership, to address these questions and more.

Financial institutions are driving an environmental, social and governance (ESG) movement, conditioning investment decisions and adjusting access to capital terms based upon a company's plan and performance. It is something both publicly traded and private companies need to be aware of. Having an ESG plan in place will benefit your bottom line and expand available business opportunities. This movement is only continuing to grow and getting out ahead of it is vital.

A broken public EV charging station puts a strain on the relationship between EV drivers and station owners. As more EVs hit the road, it's important that drivers are confident they can easily find a working charging station along their route. Co-Founder and CEO of ChargerHelp!, Kameale Terry, spent time with us sharing how her company not only works to keep charging stations operational, they do it by utilizing the local talent in your area.

As vaccinations make their way through the U.S. population, we take a look back on the past year and its effect on the retail fuel market. In addition, we spend some time looking at current transportation patters, fuel demand, consumer behavior and what lies in the near future. Listen-in as we spend time with Joel Hirschboeck, Senior Vice President of Fuel Supply with Giant - GetGo and Chris Rapanick, Director of Business Development with NACS.

Stephen Hightower is the Chief Operating Officer of Hightowers Petroleum Company - a leading energy supplier in North America. Over their 40 years of existence, Hightowers has consistently navigated the changing conditions of the transportation energy industry to seek new opportunities for growth. Much can be learned from their progressive stance on things like Environment, Social, and Governance planning and performance and how their core values impact their ability to evolve.

With special guest:

Stephen Hightower, Chief Operating Officer, Hightowers Petroleum Company

Hosted by:

John Eichberger, Executive Director, Fuels Institute

In 2022, the Fuels Institute will release a report comparing the life cycle carbon emissions of electric, combustion and hybrid vehicles that looks at every stage of a vehicle’s life to help identify opportunities for effective carbon reductions. Listen in as the authors of the report discuss the different sets of assumptions that go into modeling, the hotly debated topics in this space such as exactly when in the EV's lifecycle it becomes less carbon intense than a typical ICE vehicle and the sensitivity factors that affect this time period. It is a fascinating discussion that will leave you eager to read the full report.

Originally recorded on November 23, 2020. According to a 2020 survey by Morgan Stanley, 95% of institutional asset owners are integrating or considering integrating some sort of “sustainable investing”, which is often called Environmental and Social Governance or ESG, in all or part of their portfolios. We spoke with Ryan Scott, vice president with HBW Resources, to address the outlook of ESG for transportation energy stakeholders.

While there's no doubt that EVs will have a progressively larger role in the future of transportation and in reaching the goal of decarbonizing transportation, is it the only solution? Conventional corn and conventional corn-based ethanol production has a 46% smaller carbon footprint than conventional gasoline and is able to use today's infrastructure. What role will biofuels play going forward? We invited friends from the Renewable Fuels Association to provide an update on the biofuels market and to discuss the future role biofuels could play in the future of transportation.

Originally recording on October 2, 2020. On August 12, 2020, Phillips 66 announced plans to reconfigure its San Francisco Refinery in Rodeo, CA., to produce renewable fuels. The plant would no longer produce fuels from crude oil, but instead would make fuels from used cooking oil, fats, greases and soybean oils. We spoke with Nik Weinberg-Lynn, manager, renewable energy projects of Phillips 66, to learn more about the engineering behind this project, the timeline and what products will be offered at this new facility.

Originally recorded on August 6, 2020. Although a rebound in customer demand is evident, the outbreak of COVID-19 had an adverse impact on fuel retailing during the second quarter 2020. The extent, duration and impact of COVID-19 and governmental and societal responses is uncertain. Dan Munford, managing director of UK based Insight Research updates Jeff Hove  (Fuels Institute Vice President) on the market in Western Europe.

Originally recorded on May 27, 2020. We spent time with an old friend, Steve Schmith of Automotive News to evaluate the current and future outlook of vehicle sales in the U.S. Reports paint a bleak picture but Steve had some enlightening thoughts as to what the reality is and what the future may hold.

Originally recorded on December 14, 2020. Choosing an innovation that is rationally better in terms of performance, cost or the environment does not always come intuitively or naturally to most of us. We spoke with Matthew Willcox, author of the best selling book, "The Business of Choice." He breaks down behavioral principles that transportation-energy stakeholders should think about to ensure their innovations are adopted.

The future of transportation requires stakeholders to decarbonize systems to meet climate and policy demands at a rapid pace. Hyzon Motors is focused on decarbonizing mobility, starting with medium and heavy-duty trucks and buses. To better understand the diversity and complexity of the different energy needs, we spoke with Parker Meeks, Chief Strategy Officer, of Hyzon Motors.

The U.S. school bus fleet is more than just a reliable way to transport the nations children to and from school each day. It's the nation's largest public transportation fleet at two and a half times the number of vehicles of all other forms of mass transportation combined. Gifted $100 million over five years, the World Resources Institute (WRI) will use a portion of this to work with a broad set of stakeholders to spur the electrification of over 450,000 school buses. Erika Myers, global senior manager with WRI, joined us and shared more details on this effort, as well as how it will affect the electric vehicle charging infrastructure nationwide.

Originally recorded on September 16, 2020. The health and environmental cleanliness of underground storage tanks has a long term effect on not only retailers but the entire community. While transportation energy sources continue to evolve, liquid energy options will remain for decades to come. We spoke with Misty Sexton, President of Standard Petroleum Logistics, Inc., to learn if we're doing everything we can to preserve the life and quality of the fuel that powers the domestic transportation industry.

Elevated and volatile oil prices are gaining headlines throughout the world and imposing higher transportation costs on consumers. To provide insight into what is contributing to higher energy costs and to explore what options might be available to bring relief at the pump, Carpool Chats sat down with two of the nation’s leading oil market analysts and current Fuels Institute board members to get their experienced perspective.

Hosted by:

John Eichberger, Director, Fuels Institute

Could an electric vehicle (EV) be in your purchasing future? While EV sales made up approximately 2% of all vehicle sales in 2020, many of your neighbors and friends have either discussed EVs or actually taken the plunge. What's the process like when deciding to go from the traditional gas powered vehicle to an alternative fuel vehicle? We invited a consumer to tell us exactly what the process was like going from gas powered, to hybrid to fully electric. Listen-in as Brenna Kaminski, founder of the YouTube series, Space Coast EV Drivers, joins us to tell her story.

Last year, oil prices traded at negative values for the first time ever, and now they are closing in on $100 per barrel. The world is witnessing increased demand post-COVID shutdown at the same time that supply is trying to catch up. Simultaneously, there are many policy decisions driving discrepancy between supply and demand and driving energy prices higher. Listen in for CEA's take on what is going on in the market and why we need to focus on diversifying our energy resources to continue delivering affordable and reliable energy sources for consumers.

It will take an aggressive approach to reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector. The solutions must support the environment while preserving affordable transportation options for consumers. Listen as Bryan Kaus, business improvement lead (commercial) at Phillips 66, explains how the transportation industry can work together to find realistic and practical paths towards a lower carbon future.

Electrification is coming, but internal combustion engines will remain a large portion of the ground transportation fleet for many years to come - whether as typical ICE vehicles or used in hybrid vehicles. With that in mind, continued research and development with respect to improving the emissions profile and efficiency of the ICE engine is paramount.

Hosted by:

Jeff Hove, Vice President, Fuels Institute

Originally recorded on June 26, 2020. We investigated the future growth trajectory of the electric vehicle market in the midst of COVID-19. Our guest, John Gartner, mobility and vehicle electrification researcher helped shed some light on what the market may look like later in the year.

With a goal of reducing transportation-related emissions as quickly as possible, what role will biofuels play with the existing 260 million vehicles on the road and the existing 140,000 gas stations that are selling liquid fuels today? We spent time with Jordan Godwin, Associate Director of Renewable Fuels at Oil Price Information Service to discuss the future outlook for the biofuels market.

Originally recorded on October 9, 2020. Too expensive, not reliable and not made for everyone. Electric vehicles have long been seen as out of reach and inconvenient. Is that really the case? Dr. Shelley Francis, co-founder of EVHybridNoire, is on a mission to amplify and elevate the conversation surrounding lower emissions and how it leads to a healthier lifestyle for all communities. We spoke with Dr. Francis to learn more about EVHybridNoire, their view on the recent push for banning internal combustion engine vehicles in California and the need for building a more convenient EV infrastructure.

Originally recorded on August 25, 2020. COVID-19 had an adverse impact on fuel retailing during the second quarter 2020. Has it changed the projected acceleration into the electric energy market? In 2018 the world leader in liquid fueling systems, Gilbarco Veeder-Root, announced their intentions to expand their business into e-Mobility. John Eichberger, executive director of the Fuels Institute, spoke with Brian Kuebert, director, e-mobility global product management with Gilbarco Veeder-Root to gain his outlook on the future of electric vehicles amidst COVID-19 and beyond.

Reducing transportation-related carbon emissions is essential. For many, the solution rests with electric vehicles. However, is there only one solution? Should we put all of our eggs in one basket? Bob McCormick, senior research fellow with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, joined us and provided a broad view of the situation and the various options on the horizon.

Diversifying one's portfolio is Financial Planning 101. After pushing through one of its worst winters on record, the state of Texas will be the first to tell you that diversifying your transportation assets is just as important. Listen-in as we spend time with Lori Pampell Clark, Program Manager at the North Central Texas Council of Governments and Dallas-Fort Worth Clean Cities Coordinator. She discusses the importance of taking a coordinated approach to transportation infrastructure deployment, the role equity and environmental justice plays and lessons learned after surviving Winter Storm Uri.

Increasing demands from investors, consumers, and policymakers make ESG pursuits a timely and fiscally responsible consideration. Without adequate ESG planning, public and private companies risk the loss of access to capital as well as customer loyalties. Listen in as we discuss the ESG movement and why it matters to your business.

With special guest:

Jerry Soverinsky, Creative Writer and Author of Fuels Institute's ESG Report

Hosted by:

Jeff Hove, Vice President, Fuels Institute