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Volvo Group North America Wins South Coast AQMD Clean Air Award for Innovative Clean Air Technology

Volvo Group North America is very pleased to be recognized for its clean air technology efforts by South Coast AQMD,” said Keith Brandis, Volvo Group vice president of partnerships and systems solutions. “The Volvo LIGHTS (Low Impact Green Heavy Transport Solutions) project has been successful as a result of the multiple partners who represent each of the critical areas for battery electric vehicle deployment and acceptance. We appreciate South Coast AQMD supporting Volvo in this initiative, as well as the Switch-On and Joint Electric Truck Scaling Initiative (JETSI).”

Volvo LIGHTS is a collaboration among 15 public and private partners working toward the common goal of successfully introducing battery-electric trucks and equipment into the market at scale. Led by the Volvo Group and South Coast AQMD, NFI Industries, Dependable Supply Chain Services, TEC Equipment, Greenlots, Port of Long Beach, Port of Los Angeles, Southern California Edison, CALSTART, the University of California, Riverside CE-CERT, Reach Out, Rio Hondo College and San Bernardino Valley College are also stakeholders.

The Volvo LIGHTS project was made possible by a $48 million award to South Coast AQMD from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as part of California Climate Investments (CCI), a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars toward reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, strengthening the economy and improving public health and the environment. South Coast AQMD contributed $4 million from the Clean Fuels Fund and awarded the Volvo Group a $45.6 million contract to design and implement the LIGHTS project. Volvo and its partners have promised no less than $45.7 million in matching contributions to increase the total project value to more than $91 million for South Coast AQMD to administer.

“We appreciate and commend South Coast AQMD’s leadership in advancing the clean air agenda in our region, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with them on innovative projects that will positively impact the air quality,” said Aravind Kailas, Volvo Group advanced technology policy director.

Along with the LIGHTS project, the Volvo Group is also participating in the Switch-On and Joint Electric Truck Scaling Initiative (JETSI). The Switch-On project builds on the success of the Volvo LIGHTS program through the deployment of 100 battery-electric regional haul and drayage trucks in California by Volvo LIGHTS’ partner NFI. The project is on track to significantly reduce emissions along the Interstate-710 corridor in southern California, as well as improve air quality for those communities impacted. Kailas and Brandis accepted the Clean Air Award during a virtual event Dec. 3, 2021.

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Toyota slated to build electric battery plant near Greensboro, NC

North Carolina state officials recently announced that Toyota is preparing to build a $1.3 billion electric battery plant in the northern part of the state. The new plant would employ about 1,750 workers.

The state’s Economic Investment Committee voted to give Toyota $79 million in incentives if the plant is built. The plant would be constructed on a 1,800 acre area called the GreensboroRandolph Megasite, 20 miles from Greensboro next to a four-lane highway with other essential infrastructure nearby.

In October, Toyota announced it would build a new battery plant in the U.S. to accelerate its production of hybrid and fully electric vehicles. Toyota said the plant would begin operations in 2025 with growth occurring through 2031.

Toyota also said it would spend $3.4 billion in the U.S. on automotive batteries over the next ten years.

A new company will be formed to manage the North Carolina plant along with Toyota subsidiary Toyota Tsusho, an automobile parts manufacturer. The new company will be part of Toyota’s expansion of its U.S. supply chain and its footprint in the lithium-ion battery market.

A major factor in Toyota’s decision to build in North Carolina was surely its proximity to other assembly plants in Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri and Texas. State lawmakers have already pledged to spend $135 million on infrastructure near the plant and would reimburse Toyota as much as $185 million for other improvements.

The project near Greensboro would include $65 in property tax rebates and would transfer the land to Toyota if the company follows through with investing at least $1 billion and providing jobs with average salaries of $62,000 a year. More money will go to Toyota if it continues to expand with a second phase that would be worth $3 billion and provide a total of 3,800 jobs.

Toyota has been at the forefront of manufacturing hybrid and electric vehicles since the introduction of the Prius in 2000. It expects to be selling two million zero-emission hydrogen and battery-electric vehicles per year by 2030.

Other companies, including Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler, are also looking to build battery plants in the U.S. to fulfill what should be a large-scale transformation to electric vehicles across the nation. Ford has already announced it would build three plants in Kentucky and Tennessee while GM will build in Ohio and Tennessee. Analysts predict the number of new electric vehicles sold in the U.S. will double this year with 400,000 zeroemission cars, trucks and vans rolling off the assembly lines. Automakers have committed to produce electric vehicles for fully half of new sales by 2030.