CARB developing Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulation
27 July 2022
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) held yesterday another workshop on the Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulation. The goal of this effort is to accelerate the number of medium and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) purchases to achieve a ZEV truck and bus fleet in California by 2045 “everywhere feasible”.
In June 2020, CARB adopted the Advanced Clean Trucks regulation that imposes ZEV sale mandates for manufacturers of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (Class 2b through 8). The rule requires truck manufacturers to transition from diesel trucks and vans to zero-emission trucks beginning in 2024. By 2045, every new truck sold in California is to be zero-emission.
The new ACF regulation is intended to compliment the Advanced Clean Trucks regulation and to provide further support for the California ZEV goals by imposing ZEV purchase mandates for California fleets of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. CARB Staff Report on the proposed ACF regulation is expected in early September.
The initial focus is on high-priority fleets, federal fleets, and state and local government fleets with vehicles that are suitable for early electrification. The compliance criteria depend on the type of fleet.
For California “high priority” and federal (HPF) fleets, all additions to the fleet would have to be ZEV, starting in 2024. Existing trucks are to be removed at the end of their useful life—at 800,000 miles or 18 years (but no less than 13 years). As an option, HPF fleets would have to meet ZEV milestones, expressed as a progressive percentage of ZEVs in the fleet, reaching 100% ZEV fleet in 2035 for box trucks, vans and two-axle buses; in 2039 for work trucks, day cab tractors and three-axle buses; and in 2042 for sleeper cab tractors.
For state and local government fleets, the requirements are based on a number of new vehicles added to the fleet, with a certain minimum percent of vehicle additions to be ZEV:
- 50% ZEV additions from 2024 through 2026 (except for fleets in designated low population counties)
- 100% new additions starting from 2027
The development of the ACF program is a challenging task, as the regulation will mandate purchases of vehicle technologies that, to a large extent, do not yet exist. To minimize the potential adverse effects to California economy, the ACF rule will include an array of exemption and extension provisions. The key exemptions include:
- Backup vehicles—An ICE vehicle can be added to the fleet as a back-up vehicle.
- Vehicle delivery delay—Compliance is based on the date of the purchase order for the ZEV, which has to be issued one year ahead of the compliance deadline. In case ZEV deliveries are delayed, fleets may continue to use ICE vehicles.
- Infrastructure construction delay—If ZEV infrastructure such as electric vehicle charging is not available, the regulation will allow for ZEV orders to be delayed.
- Declared emergency response—Temporary ZEV exemptions to support officially declared emergency events.
- Mutual aid—Exemption of up to 25% of fleet from being ZEV to support declared emergency events outside of normal service territory.
- Daily usage—Allows for an ICE vehicle purchase exemption for up to one year if all available ZEVs cannot meet the fleet’s daily duty cycle, such as daily mileage. Exemption limited to vehicles with GVWR >14,000 lbs.
- ZEV unavailability—Example vehicle types exempted from the regulation include school buses, dedicated snow removal vehicles, heavy cranes, and two-engine trucks.
Source: CARB