From vehicle assembly to battery manufacturing, research and training, the zero-emission truck and bus supply chain is supporting thousands of jobs and billions of investments — in California and across the country — according to a new report by EDF released today. That’s good news, because the transition away from fossil fuels in the medium- and heavy-duty, zero-emission vehicle sector will require significant new investments in technology, infrastructure and logistics.
In California, much like the national picture, the MHD ZEV industry is far-reaching. Existing businesses in the transportation industry are adapting their offerings to provide MHD ZEV products, and there are a significant number of new market entrants.
California leads the nation with at least 128 companies in 181 locations involved in the MHD ZEV supply chain; 86 of these companies are headquartered in the state, with over 44,000 total employees. In addition, there has been over $3.8 billion of announced corporate investments in manufacturing, infrastructure, research and training over the last seven years.
A detailed picture of the MHD ZEV economy
Parsing out the names and operations of all of the companies in the MHD ZEV supply chain is no small task. This analysis, which we developed with the help of consulting firm PwC, provides the most granular and comprehensive look to date at the industry as a whole.
Additional findings from our California case study include:
- The majority of business locations in the supply chain in California are associated with manufacturing — 101 of 181, followed by infrastructure installation.
- The majority of California employees in the supply chain are associated with vehicle assembly and infrastructure installation.
- California is one of 22 states with over $100 million in announced corporate investments in the industry.
- Nearly $2 billion of the state’s total $3.8 billion announced is attributable to infrastructure installation, primarily through the expenditure of money by the state’s three investor-owned utilities to support infrastructure rollout, followed by $1.5 billion invested in vehicle manufacturing, primarily focused in the vehicle assembly sub-sector.
While these California findings are impressive, they are merely a snapshot of a much larger, national picture of a burgeoning industry that’s fueling jobs and investments across the U.S. EDF analysis of the entire U.S. MHD ZEV supply chain shows that as of September 2021, there were 375 companies with about 1,000 locations across the country involved in the MHD ZEV supply chain. Those companies collectively employ more than 333,000 people and have announced over $53.7 billion in new EV-related investments.
A forthcoming interactive map from EDF will provide an even more detailed national picture of the jobs and investments from the MHD ZEV supply chain, allowing users to drill all the way down to state and congressional districts, and select information to layer in, such as industry segment data, business sector, sub-sector, presence of local and state support, and more. However, company specific information can already be downloaded here.
Why California is leading
There are a few reasons California is leading the nation in several metrics associated with the MHD ZEV industry. Continued policy and economic support of the industry is likely one major factor, as is the supportive business environment in places like Silicon Valley and Los Angeles. However, Michigan and Texas are either outpacing or closely trailing California in some metrics.
In all, this analysis shows how the business climate for MHD ZEV development has already begun to ripen, and that policy makers should view MHD ZEV supportive policies as a win for American ingenuity and prosperity. Continued investment in the sector is likely to generate even more jobs and further establish the domestic supply chain for MHD ZEV vehicles, leading to more certain supply and declining costs.
As additional transportation policies are developed in California (like the proposed Advanced Clean Fleet rule), new mechanisms are providing help with financing and capital to would-be vehicle makers and purchasers. Also, new investments are being made in charging system installation and the electric grid — positioning the state to take advantage of this growth in electric transport.
While the MHD ZEV industry is robust and growing, we need lawmakers to provide the infrastructure and support to ensure we support new jobs and technology nationally, and in states like California. Policies that support the zero-emission vehicle supply chain will generate many more thousands of high-quality jobs in the state, improve air quality for all Californians and fight climate change.