Earlier this month, Dearman took a major step in making our debut in the Americas. Our first appearance in the region was exhibiting at the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo held in California.
This is a major annual event for the region’s clean transport sector- attended by over 3,500 stakeholders, 950 registered fleet operators, 250 sponsors and exhibitors, and over 160 expert speakers.
At Dearman, we believe there are real opportunities across the region, particularly in California, for our groundbreaking, liquid nitrogen-powered transport refrigeration unit (TRU). The ACT Expo was hence a chance to meet our target customers: fleet operators looking to green their refrigerated trucks affordably and effectively. I was delighted to have a number of positive conversations which are continuing, so watch this space.
The Clean Air Act of 1963 gives California the authority to set its own environmental rules, and this is certainly what the state has been doing as far as diesel TRUs are concerned. With California setting stricter rules on TRUs than most of the region, and there subsequently being two sets of rules, operators are seeking to comply with California’s operators so that they are compliant everywhere.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) offers a range of funding for fleet operators to replace vehicles, undertake retrofits, and purchase zero emission technologies. For example, since 1998, more than $900 million in programme grants from the Carl Moyer Programme have cleaned up over 50,000 engines, reducing oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and reactive organic gases (ROG) by 178,000 tons and toxic diesel particulate matter (PM) by 6,500 tons.
Naturally, funds are allocated where greatest value for money is provided in terms of being able to reduce NOx and PM emissions. Although there appears to be a focus on distributing funds for cleaning up tractors, buses and ports, Dearman analysis suggests there is a strong case for focussing more on diesel TRUs and we will be pushing this case over the coming months.
With the Americas seeing growing urban populations, and hence a rising demand for refrigerated deliveries in towns and cities, it is becoming increasingly crucial that the trucks undertaking these deliveries in neighbourhoods greatly reduce their polluting emissions. Equally, one can appreciate fleet operators want to do this in a cost effective way. This landscape calls for a solution that delivers both environmental and commercial benefits, and my time at the ACT Expo to take stock of available solutions has only further convinced me that Dearman can lead the way.
John Martin
Dearman – Vice President (Americas)
