Providing Fleets with the Data They Need to Explore Alternative Fuels
Josh Hannaberry
Senior Advisor, Strategic Partnerships
Alberta Motor Transport Association
For nearly 150 years, there has been a focused effort to design, develop, and commercialize automobiles, their engines, and ultimately the fuel sources they utilize. From three-wheeled automobiles in 1886 to the four-, six-, 10-, and 14-wheeled power units we see today.
The evolution of these vehicles follows a particular pattern, like most products or services that had to undergo a rigorous process to be commercialized. To start, an idea must be conceived. For example, the Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA) and other key stakeholders and partners, were part of the idea creation when exploring what we now know as the Alberta Zero Emissions Truck Electrification Collaboration (AZETEC) project.
This project is a first-of-its-kind-led project that includes the design, manufacture, and testing of two long-range heavy-duty hydrogen fuel cell (FCEV) trucks for operation year-round on Alberta’s QEII Highway, between Calgary, and Edmonton. The AZETEC project, and other projects that look to explore zero emission fuels and ultimately, the enhancement of commercial vehicles, also required market research and validation, concept development, planning, product design and development, and testing.
These projects have provided critical data, which ultimately supports taking the next steps in this journey, which is commercialization. There is a lot of work left to do to support the decarbonization and commercialization of alternative fuel vehicles across Alberta and beyond. One of the critical obstacles still to be overcome is more commercial carriers integrating these solutions into their operations.
It’s important to consider key factors as we explore commercialization with commercial carriers. A critical factor is what data is still required to support the economic and environmental impacts, that ultimately will help drive the purchasing decision.
Regardless of the size of a commercial carrier, it’s important for the purchasing decision maker, and other stakeholders within their organization to understand the total cost of ownership of a commercial vehicle in their operation. In addition to costs, another important factor commercial carriers need to consider is emission reductions and how their operations can reduce emissions.
To help commercial carriers, AMTA was pleased to receive updates from Edmonton Global and the Canadian Transportation Council (CTC) as they have both recently developed industry specific tools to support this research.
In 2023, Edmonton Global launched the 5,000 Hydrogen Vehicle Challenge. The goal of the challenge is to have 5,000 hydrogen or dual-fuel hydrogen vehicles on the road in Western Canada in five years. To support commercial carriers with their research, Edmonton Global has released the Heavy-Duty Truck Total Cost of Ownership Calculator, also known as the TCO Tool.
The TCO Tool provides the opportunity for commercial carriers to compare the total cost of ownership of heavy-duty trucks across five different vehicle technologies using recommended values or custom inputs. To review the tool, please visit here.
CTC is an initiative of the Transportation Energy Institute, a non-advocacy research organization dedicated to studying transportation-energy. In 2024, they developed their guide, Adopting Low-and-Zero-Emissions Options for Medium-and-Heavy-Duty Fleets. In addition, they have released their Economic Insight Tool, also known as AltFleet Insight, which helps Canadian medium and heavy-duty vehicle operators evaluate the economic and environmental impact of alternative fuel technologies using a one-to-one replacement strategy for small-scale deployments, to full fleet transitions. To review the tool, please visit here.
Commercialization of alternative fuels in the transportation industry in Alberta and beyond is a top priority. AMTA, and partners, are dedicated to continuing supporting commercial carriers to integrate the required technologies into their operations, to support the adoption.
To learn more about the work AMTA’s Industry Advancement Team is working on, click here. If you are interested in getting involved, or discussing Industry Advancement further, please email Terri Johnson, Manager of Industry Advancement at Terri.Johnson@amta.ca
Learn more about the 5,000 Hydrogen Vehicle Challenge here.
Learn more about Canadian Transportation Council -, and to read their guide to Adopting Low-and-Zero-Emissions Options for Medium-and-Heavy-Duty Fleets here.