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Calstart is a mission-oriented industry non-profit organization based in Pasadena, California, dedicated to accelerating the development, commercialization, and adoption of clean transportation solutions. Founded in 1992, Calstart operates as a catalyst for the global transportation industry's transition toward a more sustainable future. The organization collaborates with businesses, governments, and other stakeholders to promote the growth of clean transportation technologies and infrastructure.

History

Calstart was established in response both to the growing environmental challenges posed by the transportation sector, which is a significant contributor to air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and to the decline of jobs in aerospace industry after the end of the Cold War[1].

Both factors were and are especially prevalent in California: Due to high car dependency, ports, and geography, the state, and especially Los Angeles, continues to have some of the worst air quality in the country[2]. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) first adopted the Low-Emission Vehicle (LEV) Program standards in 1990 to address smog-forming pollutants.[3] [4] In this program, CARB coined the term Zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) and created a mandate for initially 10% of new vehicle sales to be zero-emission[5], posing an unprecedented engineering and commercialization challenge.

Simultaneously, California's aerospace and defense industry was in steep decline: the end of the Cold War eliminated thousands of engineering jobs. Just a decade earlier, the state had been "home to one-third of the country’s aerospace engineers"[6]. The losses created economic upheaval to such degree that it also reached the nation's capitol[7].

Calstart's founders strived to tackle California's notorious smog problem and economic challenge by creating a new clean transportation industry. The organization received close to 3/4 of its funding from industry and the remainder from federal and state grants[8].

Calstart initially worked out of an old aircraft hangar at Lockheed's original Skunk Works site in Burbank, CA. It created its first showcase electric vehicle within a year, which included innovations like an audio navigation system giving verbal directions.[9]. Calstart helped develop hybrid and electric powertrains for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and components, including the first hybrid electric bus[10] and components like differentials[11] or aluminum spaceframes for electric vehicles[12].

Calstart was initially led by its co-founder Lon Bell (former co-founder and president of Technar Incorporated, then president of TRW Technar), and later by Michael Gage, deputy mayor of Los Angeles until 1999.

Industrial Policy

From its inception, the organization was subject of political and academic debate about the pros and cons of industrial policy.[13][14][15].

Areas of work

Sectors and services

Calstart today operates in five transportation sectors, organized in initiatives:

  • Light-duty vehicles
  • Buses
  • Trucks & Off-Road Vehicles
  • Clean Fuels & Infrastructure
  • Innovative Mobility (defined as personal mobility, last-mile delivery and school mobility)

It also engages in components (e.g., batteries[16]) and materials (e.g., green steel[17]).

The organization's services (or activities) are:

  • Technology Development & Demonstration
  • Data Insights & Analytics
  • Market Acceleration
  • Public Policy
  • Member Support

Programs and projects led by Calstart include:

  • Hybrid and Zero-emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP)
  • Energy Infrastructure Incentives for Zero-Emission Commercial Vehicles (Energiize)
  • Charge@Work
  • I-95 East Coast Commercial ZEV Corridor[18]
Members and reach

Calstart defines itself as a mission-oriented industry organization and has over 300 members, spanning the entire clean transportation value chain[19], including fleets, manufacturers, infrastructure providers, agencies and institutions. The organization operates US-wide and has six regional offices.

Its global activities operate under the Drive to Zero brand, a program of Calstart and campaign of the Clean Energy Ministerial intended to accelerate the decarbonization of commercial vehicles worldwide. A Global Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Zero-Emission Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles is co-led with the Netherlands and was initiated at COP26, setting a target of 100% zero-emission new truck and bus sales by 2040. By COP28, 33 countries have signed the Global MOU, and more than 110 subnational governments and private sector organizations endorsed it.

Since 2001, John Boesel serves as president and CEO of the organization. Cynthia Williams, global director at Ford Motor Company, chairs Calstart's board of directors.

References

  1. ^ IEEE Spectrum ( Volume: 30, Issue: 7, July 1993)
  2. ^ https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-04-19/l-a-gets-failing-grade-for-air-quality-once-again
  3. ^ Sperling, Daniel; Gordon, Deborah (2009). Two billion cars: driving toward sustainability. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 24, 189–191. ISBN 978-0-19-537664-7
  4. ^ https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/ldvtp88_ac.pdf "California exhaust emission standards and test procedures for 1988-2000 passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles"
  5. ^ https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/zero-emission-vehicle-program/about and introduced
  6. ^ https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/blue-sky-metropolis/the-history-and-revival-of-southern-californias-aerospace-industry
  7. ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1992/02/14/with-cold-war-won-jobs-are-being-lost/0475c8ca-efe8-4731-b79f-75f6016dde86/
  8. ^ IEEE Spectrum ( Volume: 30, Issue: 7, July 1993, page 54)
  9. ^ IEEE Spectrum ( Volume: 30, Issue: 7, July 1993, page 56)
  10. ^ https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA342766.pdf Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Cooperative Agreement MDA972-95-2-0011
  11. ^ Joint Tactical Electric Vehicle Differential Development
  12. ^ Logan, R W, Perfect, S A, and Parkinson, R D. Energy absorption in aluminum extrusions for a spaceframe chassis. United States: N. p., 1994.
  13. ^ Scott, A. J. (1993). Southern California: The Detroit of Electric Cars? ACCESS Magazine, 1(3), 8-13.
  14. ^ Industrial Policy in Southern California: The Production of Markets, Technologies, and Institutional Support for Electric Vehicles, J Slifko and D L Rigby in Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space 1995 27:6, 933-954
  15. ^ IEEE Spectrum ( Volume: 30, Issue: 7, July 1993)
  16. ^ PowerForward
  17. ^ Green Steel
  18. ^ https://www.fleetowner.com/emissions-efficiency/article/21260546/feds-fund-freight-decarbonization-projects-nationwide
  19. ^ https://calstartconnect.org/member/index.cfm


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