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| Volkswagen Begins Assembly of All-Electric ID.4 in Chattanooga
Volkswagen recently began production of its all-electric ID.4 SUV at its Chattanooga plant. This development is the result of Volkswagen’s $800 million investment into the factory for the production of electric vehicles (EVs), including dedicated facilities for vehicle and battery pack assembly.
Volkswagen Chattanooga employs more than 4,000 people and is actively hiring more than 1,000 new production team members through 2022 to help meet high customer demand for its all-electric offerings. The factory has organized over 75,000 hours of workforce training on battery-powered vehicles and high-voltage systems to prepare for the EV transition. Volkswagen aims for 55 percent of U.S. sales to be fully electric by 2030.
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| Chattanooga Receives Federal Grant for EV Management
The City of Chattanooga was recently awarded a $4.57 million federal grant to develop an integrated, smart transportation management system for EVs to assist drivers in locating charging stations. The City's new system is funded by the U.S. DOT Federal Highway Administration's Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment funding opportunity. The City will use the funding to deploy advanced technologies to help drivers locate and manage access to charging stations. Chattanooga's system, dubbed the End-to-End Decision Support System for Integrated Smart Electric Grid and Transportation System Management, aims to accelerate the deployment of clean transportation.
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| Memphis Fire Department Implements Idle Reduction Technologies
In the last year, the Memphis Fire Department has utilized idle reduction technologies in its ambulance fleet to minimize fuel waste, idle wear, and pollutant emissions from its emergency vehicles. Emergency Management Services (EMS) crews have historically run the ambulance’s engine to maintain power and HVAC to the ambulance. This practice is known as “idling,” which has significant drawbacks such as wasted fuel and increased vehicle emissions.
Auxiliary Power Units, or APUs, are battery units that provide power to auxiliary equipment such as medical equipment, refrigerators, and HVAC systems when the ambulance engine is shut off. These units save an average of 1.5 gallons of fuel per vehicle hour, and the diversion of harmful pollutants such as carbon dioxide benefits EMS crews, patients, and the environment. Click here to learn more.
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| Duksan Electera America, Inc. Announces First North American Manufacturing Facility in Shelbyville
EV battery electrolyte manufacturer Duksan Electera recently announced it will invest $95 million to create over 100 new jobs over the next five years as the company constructs a new facility in Bedford County.
Duksan Electera’s expansion to Tennessee will position the company geographically closer to its core customer base as an electrolyte manufacturer for the EV battery industry. The Shelbyville location will be essential to Duksan Electera as the company is responsible for supplying roughly 60,000 tons of electrolytes to battery makers in the southeastern U.S. This announcement comes on the heels of other announcements of EV supply chain investments in Tennessee, further bolstering the state’s position as a leader in the U.S. for EV and related parts manufacturing.
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| U.S. DOE Webinar Series: EV Grid Assist
U.S. DOE is hosting a webinar series as part of DOE’s EVGrid Assist: Accelerating the Transition initiative. This initiative aims to support decision-makers by providing timely information on a wide range of topics important to the integration of EVs and the grid. More information regarding EV Grid Assist and registration links for the upcoming webinars can be found at www.evgridassistwebinars.com. Click on any webinar title listed below to register.
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| Register Now: Tennessee Sustainable Transportation Forum & Expo
TDEC, TDOT, and Tennessee Clean Fuels will hold the annual Tennessee Sustainable Transportation Forum & Expo (STF&E) on November 8-9 at the UT Conference Center in downtown Knoxville, returning the event to an in-person format for the first time since 2019. The research, technology, planning, and policy developments shared at STF&E aim to improve transportation efficiency, reduce vehicle emissions, and address the mobility needs of all. Nominations for the 2022 Tennessee Sustainable Transportation Awards have been extended until September 9.
This year, STF&E will be preceded by the inaugural Drive Electric TN Momentum Summit on November 7, which will include an electric vehicle ride & drive event, an EV showcase, and expert panels.
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| Inflation Reduction Act: Energy Security and Climate Change Programs
The funding included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will bring down consumer energy costs and increase American energy security while substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The investments in the bill will reduce emissions in every sector of the economy, substantially reducing emissions from electricity production, transportation, industrial manufacturing, buildings, and agriculture.
Transportation funding from the bill includes:
- Tax credits and grants for clean fuels and clean commercial vehicles to reduce emissions from all parts of the transportation sector.
- Tax credits and grants to support the domestic production of biofuels and to build the infrastructure needed for sustainable aviation fuel and other biofuels.
- $3 billion in grants to reduce air pollution at ports by purchasing and installing zero-emission equipment and technology.
- $1 billion for clean heavy-duty vehicles, like school and transit buses and garbage trucks.
- $3 billion for Neighborhood Access and Equity Grants to support neighborhood equity, safety, and affordable transportation access with four competitive grants to reconnect communities divided by existing infrastructure barriers, mitigate adverse impacts of transportation facilities or construction projects on disadvantaged or underserved communities, and support equitable transportation planning and community engagement activities.
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| Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Domestic Battery Manufacturing and Critical Materials Supply Programs
Critical materials, including rare-earth elements, lithium, nickel, and cobalt, are required to manufacture many clean energy technologies, including batteries, electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels. The program will advance domestic sourcing and production, strengthening America’s position as a global manufacturing leader. Feedback on the Critical Materials Program must be submitted by September 9, and feedback on battery materials and recycling is due October 14.
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| Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program – Planning Grants and Capital Construction Grants
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has established the new Reconnecting Communities Pilot (RCP) discretionary grant program, funded with $1 billion over the next 5 years. It is the first-ever program to help reconnect communities that were previously cut off from economic opportunities by transportation infrastructure. Funding supports planning grants and capital construction grants, as well as technical assistance, to restore community connectivity through the removal, retrofit, mitigation, or replacement of eligible transportation infrastructure facilities. Eligible facilities include highways, including roads, streets, or parkways or other transportation facilities, such as rail lines, that create a barrier to community connectivity, including barriers to mobility, access, or economic development, due to high speeds, grade separations, or other design factors.
For planning grants, eligible entities include states, local government, federally recognized Tribal governments, metropolitan planning organizations, and nonprofit organizations. Eligible planning activities include:
- planning studies of current traffic patterns on the eligible facility proposed for removal, retrofit, or mitigation and the surrounding street network; transportation network capacity; alternative roadway designs or other uses for the right-of-way; impacts to the mobility of freight and people; impacts to the safety of the traveling public; cost; anticipated economic impacts and environmental impacts both human and natural;
- public engagement activities to provide the public opportunities to provide input into a plan to remove and convert an eligible facility; and
- other transportation planning activities required in advance of a project to remove, retrofit, or mitigate an existing eligible facility to restore community connectivity, as determined by DOT.
For capital construction grants, eligible entities include facility owners and partnerships between facility owners and other entities listed as eligible planning grant recipients. Eligible capital construction projects include removal, retrofit, or mitigation of an existing eligible facility; or replacement of an eligible facility with a new facility that restores community connectivity and is sensitive to the context of the surrounding community.
U.S. DOT held a webinar to provide a general overview of the RCP discretionary grant program for prospective applicants, including elements of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) and the evaluation criteria. Click here to view the recording (password: i6X7uTW&). Full applications for funding are due through grants.gov by October 13. Please contact ReconnectingCommunities@dot.gov with questions.
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| Technical Assistance Video Series Available for K-12 Schools Interested in Electric School Buses
Electric school buses are a growing topic of discussion in the transportation industry. To help inform schools about electric school buses, U.S. DOE is providing a technical assistance program for K-12 schools interested in incorporating electric school buses into their fleets. The "Flipping the Switch on Electric School Buses" series is a multi-part technical assistance series, with each part containing several modules that discuss key topics. Modules can be watched in order, or viewers can only watch those most applicable to them and their fleet. Learn more about the electric school bus series on the Alternative Fuels Data Center website.
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