After setting an all-time attendance record at ACT Expo 2021, this year’s event has set another record, with close to 8,000 attendees flying, driving, and walking into Long Beach for the annual clean tech conference.
New to this year, the Expo Hall was open a day early with the evening grand opening reception. More than 80 clean fuel and tech vehicles were on hand, giving attendees a look into where the industry is and where it’s going.
“The attendance numbers are clearly a reflection of what’s happening in the industry,” said GNA CEO Erik Neandross during the mainstage welcome session.
Attendees were then given the first look at the 2022 State of Sustainable Fleets (SoSF) Market Brief, which highlighted the fact that fleets are accelerating their use of clean fuels and advanced vehicle technologies, throughout every transportation sector.
“Our survey results confirm that in every sector, fleets are increasingly turning to a spectrum of advanced clean vehicle technologies and low carbon fuels to not only meet their sustainability goals but improve their fleet’s bottom line,” said Neandross.
After introducing the report and some its key findings, Neadross led a panel discussion featuring representatives from the report’s sponsors — Drew Cullen, senior vice president, fuels and facility services at Penske Transportation Solutions; Mary Aufdemberg, general manager of product strategy and market development at Daimler Truck North America; and Carlos Maurer, executive vice president, sectors and decarbonization at Shell.
“We’re not at the point where we have one clear winner,” said Cullen, referring to the clean fuels discussed in the 2022 SoSF report. “It could be decades until we get there.”
According to the report, the key to increased adoption of these transportation technologies is increase in government funding and legislative support at both the state and federal levels.
The day ended with a grand entrance into the largest collection of clean vehicle and fuel solutions the industry has ever seen, with nearly 200 exhibitors on hand. Another first for ACT Expo, attendees were welcomed onto the expo hall floor a day early during the grand opening evening reception, which included press announcements from Daimler Trucks North America, Penske Transportation Solutions and Shell Recharge Solutions, and Volvo Trucks North America.
