If you’re passionate about alternative fuel vehicles, there are limitations to how many events you can attend each year. ACT Expo is one of them, and it’s taking place next week in Long Beach, Calif. I will be attending and am looking forward to meeting colleagues in the industry. It’s designed around fleets integrating clean transportation into their operations. You’ll see several US Dept. of Energy’s Clean Cities coordinators at the conference, along with association executives, and representative from OEMs, infrastructure suppliers, and government agencies. More than 3,500 people are expected to show up this year.
In the past, ACT Expo was dominated by natural gas vehicles, but that’s expanding for the first time this year through alliances with a few organizations. Several events will be co-located with ACT Expo 2014, including: propane autogas summit “Lead the Way,” which is being presented by Propane Education & Research Council; California Hydrogen Business Council will be holding its spring summit; “Women in Alternative Clean Transportation Summit” has been organized by ACT Expo management firm Gladstein, Neandross & Associates; NGV Global will hold its conference in tandem with ACT Expo; “Alternative Fuel Toolkit for Local Governments, Fleet Managers, and Employers Workshop” is being organized by South Coast Air Quality Management District. Electric Drive Transportation Association, Advanced Biofuels USA, California Fuel Cell Partnership, National Biodiesel Board, and NGV America are among the conference’s endorsing organizations.
The ride and drive is always worth setting aside time for; it might be the only chance you get to drive around a hybrid medium duty truck or an electric delivery van. A full list of alt-fuel passenger cars are also on hand to test out. More than 70 alternative fuel vehicles will be featured in this year’s ride and drive. Though ACT Expo is certainly not all about light- and medium-duty vehicles. The American Trucking Associations has worked with ACT Expo organizers. “ACT Expo is a tremendous opportunity to learn more about the economic and environmental benefits of using alternative fuels and heavy-duty trucking efficiency technologies,” said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves.
Vehicles featured during the ride and drive include: Peterbilt 384 LNG tractor, Freightliner Cascadia 113 CNG daycab tractor, Honda Civic Natural Gas, Volvo VNL 670 CNG tractor, Chevrolet Express 2500 gasoline/electric hybrid cargo van, (XL Hybrids) and Ford F-250 pickup ( provided by ROUSH CleanTech). Heavy-duty trucks will include the Freightliner Cascadia and Kenworth T680 CNG trucks.
About 200 alternative fuel and clean transportation industry leaders will be speaking on panels. This year’s keynote speakers will be Southern California Edison President Ronald Litzinger and Volvo Trucks EVP Dennis Slagle; they’ll discuss the progress and momentum in today’s burgeoning advanced vehicle technology marketplace.
Hi Jon. I attend ACT and see you there every year. As I usually do, I just go one day for a couple of hours and walk the floor. Is there some simple way to just get in with an MPG card, do my thing, then head on out? I’ve been successful in the past bypassing most of the bureaucracy that way, but don’t know if admission procedures have tightened up recently. Just looking for the simplest and easiest way to see the show, and at presumably the least expense.
Other topic: Several friends at Toyota potentially impacted by the Plano move. With so many jobs at stake, I wonder why Jerry Brown didn’t at least make a pitch on the grounds of first refusal. It makes evil and dastardly Rick Perry look cunning and dynamic in the face of our state leadership’s apparent sloth and timidity. I see this a true blow for California which, as you say, has either coincidentally or by-design priced itself out of the (jobs) market.
See you next week (please advise when you’ll be there). Best, Rex