IACT Hosts First Green Drives in Edwardsville

The Illinois Alliance for Clean Transportation (IACT) hosted Green Drives in Edwardsville on Friday, August 11, 2023, from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM (CT).

Green Drives is one of the largest clean-transportation conferences in the Midwest. It first began outside of Chicago and organized a Southern Illinois edition for the first time this year.

This event and expo is a must-attend event for government officials, commercial and municipal fleet managers, corporate sustainability officers, and clean-tech and clean-energy professionals. Green Drives is essential for those seeking to adopt cleaner, lower-emission fuels and technologies while also reducing costs.

IACT held the event at the Morris Center on the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) campus. The event was hosted by SIUE and the National Corn Ethanol Research Center (NCERC).

Attendees learned from and network with national and regional experts on fleet-focused alternative fuels and electric vehicle best practices, solutions, resources, and technologies. The conference featured an integrated exhibition hall where attendees could explore exhibitors from within the industry. Additionally, a group of alternative fuel vehicles were stationed outside from local municipalities and organizations, providing attendees the opportunity to view various clean fuel vehicle options.

Speakers discussed a variety of topics regarding the use of alternative fuel vehicles in fleets, as well as how to access financial resources to support the transition to clean fuel fleets. This included sessions on Current and Future Fleet Vehicle Technologies, Electrifying Your Fleet, How to Look at Life Cycle Costs of Alternative Fuel Vehicles, and How to Obtain and Use Federal and State Funding.

Speaker Presentations

Current Fleet Vehicle Technologies

  • Chris Lyon, Industry Overview
  • Mike Saxton
  • Donnell Rehagen, CEO, Clean Fuels Alliance (formerly National Biodiesel Board)
  • John Barnett, Suburban Autogas

Future Fleet Vehicle Technologies

  • Moderator and presenter Chris Lyon, Director of Fleet Relations, NTEA
  • BJ Johnson, Co-Founder and CEO, ClearFlame Engine Technologies
  • Lori Dunn, COO Optimus Tech

Electrifying Your Fleet

  • Christina Sue, Arcadis
  • Don Gibson, Freewire
  • Bill Reany, Ameren Illinois

How to Look at Life Cycle Costs of Alternative Fuel Vehicles

  • Chris Lyon, NTEA
  • Bill Reany, Ameren Illinois
  • Mike Saxton
  • Brocton McGuire, Enterprise Fleet Management

How to Obtain and Use New and Expanded Federal and State Funding

  • Nate Keener, Central Region IL Dept. of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Office of Employment and Training, Clean Equitable Jobs Act
  • Chris Schmidt, IL Dept. of Transportation,
  • Angela Tin, American Lung Association, on USDA, Biodiesel and Ethanol, EPA DERA & School Bus Funding

All presentations are available on our website.

Green Drives Edwardsville will be back in 2024. See you there!

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