CTE opens call for abstracts for the 2020 International Zero Emission Bus Conference
The Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) is partnering with the Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) to host the International Zero Emission Bus Conference in Denver, Colo., September 16th-18th. The event will bring together transportation leaders from around the world to explore the challenges, opportunities and best practices involved in electrifying bus fleets.
The eighth annual conference, to take place at the Hilton Denver City Center, will encompass two days of zero-emission bus (ZEB) programming – including keynotes, panel sessions, break-out groups and an expo – Sept. 17-18, with an optional ZEB 101 class available on Sept. 16. Attendees can expect a series of case studies and debates on the conference stage, as well as opportunities for networking and collaboration throughout the event. This year's conference will highlight the emergence of new markets, such as electric school buses, airport shuttles and university transport.
Bus operators across the country are increasingly turning to electric solutions. These clean vehicles offer many benefits but also bring many new considerations for fleet managers as they are not one-for-one replacements for conventional fossil fuel buses. Since 2011, CTE has hosted the ZEB Conference to educate industry professionals with practical information for making smart, informed electric bus and infrastructure decisions.
The transportation stakeholders attending the 2020 ZEB Conference will include fleet operators, vehicle manufacturers, utilities, hydrogen fuel and charging infrastructure providers, government agencies and more. Last year's conference in San Francisco drew more than 500 attendees from across the globe.
Stacey Simms, a 2019 conference panelist and senior portfolio manager of the Electric Vehicle Initiative for Denver's Xcel Energy said, "With Xcel Energy striving to be a national leader in fleet electrification, I found CTE's ZEB Conference to be an excellent source of information on what to expect as fleet operators scale up their electric vehicle projects. I'm very pleased the conference will be in Colorado this year, and I look forward to connecting with the local school bus, commercial fleets and transit operators in our service area."
Xcel aims to reduce carbon emissions 80 percent by 2030 and deliver 100 percent carbon-free electricity to customers by 2050.
Denver RTD has one of the largest electric bus fleets in the country, consisting of 36 zero-emission vehicles operating on the 16th Street Mall, a key downtown corridor. Its 9.45-million annual Free MallRide boardings represent nine percent of Denver RTD's yearly total. Denver RTD says it is anticipating the arrival of 17 zero-emission buses in 2022 or 2023 through its current Low-No project, funded by the Federal Transit Administration.
At the state level, Colorado has taken strides to encourage the implementation of zero-emission vehicles. In January 2019, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced his first executive order "Supporting a Transition to Zero-Emission Vehicles." Subsequently, Colorado's Legislature has passed bills to support widespread fleet electrification, introduced incentives and investments to facilitate fleet transitions and adopted a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) rule requiring automakers to increase sales of ZEVs by 2030.
In addition, Colorado is leading the electric school bus (ESB) transition by prioritizing and supporting purchases of ESBs with funding programs from the VW settlement funds and Colorado's Regional Air Quality Council. West Grand School District in northern Colorado received a grant from Colorado's Regional Air Quality Council and donations from local electric utilities Middle Parks Electric and Tri-State G&T in February to purchase the state's first ESBs from Bluebird. A few other school districts around the state are expecting ESB deployments starting later this year.
The conference is now accepting abstracts and poster session proposals through the official conference website, zebconference.com. Event registration will open in June.
Platinum sponsors include Proterra, New Flyer and Ballard Power Systems. For more sponsorship opportunities, including the ability to display a zero-emission vehicle during the conference expo, contact Niki Rinaldi El-Abd at [email protected].
Members of the media interested in obtaining credentials to cover the conference should contact Wendy Noreña at [email protected].
CTE says it is cognizant of the unprecedented circumstances that the recent COVID-19 pandemic represents. At this point, CTE says it is moving forward with the conference as planned but will continue to monitor the situation. CTE’s first priority is the health and safety of our staff, partners, clients, and fellow zero-emission advocates. CTE will issue a conference update in the event of necessary postponement or cancellation due to the coronavirus outbreak.
