GMA seeks industry input on zero-emissions vehicle deployment

“Heavy duty trucking accounts for more than 3% of global carbon emissions,” said Kim Carnahan, GMA CEO. “Yet, as in other hard-to-abate sectors, deployment of decarbonized solutions has been painfully slow. With this announcement, GMA member companies have the opportunity to take demand aggregation where it’s needed most, applying the book-and-claim model to road freight in order to rapidly accelerate the adoption of zero-emission trucks.”

According to a media release, to inform the RFP design, GMA Trucking has launched a brief request-for-information (RFI) for carrier responses. The RFI seeks to gather information on existing zero-emission vehicle deployments, interest in expanding ZEV fleets, experience with renewable energy and green fuels, and preferences around multi-year offtake terms. To help those interested in responding to the RFI, GMA has scheduled a webinar for September 17 at 12PM ET to provide further information on the application of book-and-claim systems for road transportation, how to respond to the RFI, and how to prepare for the RFP.

“The webinar is intended to inform stakeholders about the recently issued request for information that will inform GMA Trucking’s upcoming procurement process for zero-emission trucking service attributes,” the release said. “The RFI seeks to gather information on existing zero-emission vehicle deployments, interest in expanding ZEV fleets, experience with renewable energy and green fuels, and preferences around multi-year offtake terms. The webinar will provide further information on the application of book and claim systems for road transportation, how to respond to the RFI, and how to prepare for the RFP that is expected to launch in fall 2024.”

The release noted that the GMA Trucking buyers’ alliance, which launched in September 2023, includes companies such as PepsiCo, Meta, eBay, REI Co-op and Green Worldwide Shipping. The goal of the alliance is advancing decarbonization within the heavy-duty road transportation sector.

Newly released in conjunction with the announcement is a request for information (RFI) intended to inform its upcoming procurement process for zero-emission trucking service attributes utilizing a book-and-claim model. GMA Trucking is preparing for its first pilot procurement of zero-emission trucking service attributes, a process expected to launch in fall 2024. Targeting preliminary volumes from battery electric or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles of up to 110 million ton-miles (or seven million miles with a weighted average payload of 14 tons) per year, the RFP will help GMA Trucking members purchase attributes to make progress towards their greenhouse gas targets and send a strong demand signal to carriers, OEMs, and infrastructure providers to continue investments in zero-emission transportation services. The system will draw from the guidance within SFC’s Market Based Measures (MBM) Framework, a foundational document for logistics book-and-claim that will ensure GMA Trucking aligns with best practices.

“The Smart Freight Centre has been focused on book-and-claim systems for many years because they create the flexibility needed to drive greater investment into low-carbon transportation solutions,” said Christoph Wolff, CEO of Smart Freight Centre. “Our Fleet Electrification Coalition also channels aggregated demand for electric trucking services towards collaborative real-world projects. We look forward to contributing our tools, guidance materials, and expertise to help this program succeed and more rapidly decarbonize the road freight sector.”

The release also stated that GMA Trucking has also formalized its strategic partnership with the Smart Freight Centre (SFC), an international non-profit organization focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from freight transportation. SFC will bring sector-specific expertise of both road freight decarbonization and book-and-claim systems to help the buyers’ alliance achieve its objectives.

“GMA Trucking and its member companies aim to overcome traditional decarbonization hurdles by utilizing a book-and-claim system for heavy-duty road transportation attributes similar to those already deployed in other markets, such as renewable electricity certificates (RECs), sustainable aviation fuel certificates (SAFc), and, recently, maritime services,” the release said. “Such systems have proven catalytic to market adoption and acceleration of critical technologies and offer a replicable model to drive the decarbonization of other high-emitting industries.”

Through its pilot RFP, GMA expects to select one or more carriers from which to purchase trucking service attributes over a multi-year period. Following the pilot RFP and project contracting, GMA will run recurring RFP processes to help its members purchase zero-emission trucking service attributes on an ongoing basis, growing in scale and scope over time, and helping the road freight sector more rapidly achieve net zero emissions.

Potential respondents who are interested in learning more about the GMA Trucking RFI are encouraged to attend the upcoming webinar. Freight operators are also invited to respond to the RFI by October 11, 2024. More information about GMA and additional cross-sectoral decarbonization opportunities can be found at gmacenter.org or by emailing [email protected].