On August 13-15, 2024, over 300 individuals gathered to attend the 2024 Sustainable Fleet Technology Conference & Expo at the Durham Convention Center, in Durham, NC. The NC Clean Energy Technology Center’s Clean Transportation team planned various networking opportunities, informational breakout sessions, and arranged for expert keynote speakers to address attendees on topics of sustainability in transportation technologies.

Public & private fleet managers, purchasing officials, state government leaders, non-profits, Clean Cities Coalitions, sustainability managers, and many more clean transportation professionals came together to discover the latest and greatest in operations and implementation of sustainable fleet technologies.

Prior to the two main days of the conference, NAFA Fleet Management Association (NAFA) and Triangle Clean Cities organized pre-conference events to take place on August 13, 2024, that many registrants found valuable.

NAFA held a Sustainable Fleet Management Certificate Program, a unique offering that allows fleet professionals to gain skills to guide their organizations to implementing sustainable fleet management practices. Those who attended the program learned methods for launching sustainable fleet initiatives and how to introduce sustainable practices to their team. The workshop & certificate bundle gave participants access to a self-paced guided online course, a sustainable fleet management reference guide along with a study guide. After attending the in-person session during the pre-conference day, participants were eligible to take the online exam to earn their certification.

Triangle Clean Cities held an event titled, “Clean Transportation Landscape in the Southeast” in which Coalition Director of Triangle Clean Cities, Jesse Duran, gave an overview of alternative fuel investments in the Southeast. Stan Cross, the Director of Electric Transportation for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy joined Duran to highlight technological trends, investments, and growth projections that will occur in the coming years. Duran and Cross also discussed alternative fuel solutions that are available in the current market.

NAFA also led a Green Fleet Panel, featuring experienced fleet managers. Following the panel, NAFA announced the winners of the 2024 Green Fleet Awards. The award is a “comprehensive set of criteria specifically tailored around the challenges and requirements of fleet professionals.” (NAFA) They recognize high performing fleet sustainability efforts and organizations that have implemented innovative programs. The City of New York, NY was awarded the Top Green Fleet of 2024. The additional awardees are as follows: Best Bio-Based Efforts – Prince Georges County, MD; Best Policies, Procedures, and Long Term Planning – Miami-Dade County, FL ISD Fleet Management; Most Improved Fleet – Miami Beach, FL; Best Special Vehicle Project – Hennepin County, MN; Best Long Term Greening Effort – Cedric Roberts, Birmingham, AL; Mentor of the Year – Michael Duffy, University of Virginia. Pre-conference day attendees and Green Fleet Award recipients then joined each other at the Durham Armory for a reception.

On August 14, 2024 the conference officially kicked off with a breakfast sponsored by Kempower. Attendees began the morning networking before the morning’s two keynote presentations. Bill Combs, Vice President of Sustainability at Penske Transportation Solutions, and George Fotopoulos, Vice President of Mack Truck’s e-mobility Business Unit, spoke about the sustainable practices and clean vehicle technologies they have helped implement in their fleets, and each held a Q&A session with the audience.

Following the keynote address, the exhibit hall opened for attendees to explore. The expo hall featured a variety of exhibitors:

• Agile Fleet
• Alliance AutoGas
• AMCS Group
• AssetWorks
• Atom Power
• Black Fleet Network
• Blink Charging
• C6 Insights
• City of Charlotte
• City of Durham
• City of Raleigh
• Clean Fuels Alliance America
• Diesel Laptops
• Enphase
• Forward Thinking Systems, LLC
• Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
• Gregory Poole Lift Systems
• Guardian Fueling Technologies
• Hexagon Agility
• InCharge Energy
• Kempower
• Model 1 Commercial Vehicles
• MoveEV
• Mullen USA
• NAFA
• NCDOT
• Piedmont Truck Center
• ROUSH CleanTech
• Safety First
• Samsara
• SEPA/PERC
• SimplyFuel Solutions
• Stealth Power
• Thompson AutoGas
• Town of Cary
• Triangle Clean Cities

Additionally, several exhibitors and municipalities (from as nearby as Durham, NC to as far away as the City of Birmingham, AL) lined the streets with alternative fuel vehicles to make for an excellent outdoor component to the displays.

Attendees then had the opportunity to attend two breakout sessions, choosing from three tracks: Funding & Planning, Advanced Vehicle Technologies, and Fueling & Charging. The first breakout offered sessions on Federal Funding, Vehicle Technician Training and Retention, and Managed Charging. The second offered sessions on Gaining Buy-In for Your Budget, Sustainability and Efficiency Beyond Fuel Choice, and Growing Infrastructure.

After the two breakout sessions, a reception in the exhibit hall commenced, allowing individuals to further network and connect with other attendees. A networking event sponsored by Thompson AutoGas at the Durham Bulls baseball game closed out the first full day of conference activities.

The second day of the conference began on August 15, 2024, with a breakfast sponsored by the Black Fleet Network. Attendees heard from the keynote plenary panel, “Best Practices from Top Fleet Managers”, including panelists Jim Schmidt (Salem, OR), Al Curtis (Cobb County, GA), and Guadalupe Federico (Phoenix, AZ), who shared their experiences as fleet managers, and were moderated by LP Monroe (Prince Georges County, MD).

The exhibit hall reopened to give attendees a final chance to connect with exhibitors and learn more about the organizations working to make the transportation sector more sustainable. After a buffet lunch, the closing plenary panel, “What Does the Future Hold?” with Jennifer Weaver (Clean Fuels Alliance America), Jed Routh (Kempower), and Marianne McInerney (Mullen USA), addressed the innovative technologies that will influence the future of clean transportation, moderated by Rick Sapienza (Wake Tech Community College).

Two final breakout sessions were then offered in the same three tracks. Individuals could choose from Data Analytics for Fleet Operations, Predictive Maintenance, or Home Charging for the first session. The last breakout session offered Innovative Financing, Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicle Options, or Charging Resilience for attendees to choose from.

The 2024 Sustainable Fleet Technology Conference & Expo succeeded in bringing fleet managers and clean transportation experts together to collaborate and learn from each other about the latest and greatest sustainable fleet technologies that will continue to transform the industry for years to come. Each sponsor, exhibitor, promotional partner, speaker, and attendee made for an excellent event! Additional photos of the conference are available in this blog post.

We would like to thank our sponsors for all of their support throughout the planning and execution of the conference:

Platinum Sponsors

• North Carolina Department of Transportation
• Southeast Propane Alliance (SEPA)
• Propane Education & Research Council (PERC)

Silver Sponsors

• Diesel Laptops
• Kempower
• NAFA Fleet Management Association
• Central Pines Regional Council
• Black Fleet Network
• InCharge
• Mullen Automotive

Bronze Sponsors

• Alliance AutoGas
• U.S. Soy & Clean Fuels Alliance America
• Samsara
• Model 1 Commercial Vehicles
• Thompson AutoGas
• Stealth Power

Next year’s conference will be held on August 25-27, 2025 at the Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem, NC. Save the date and NCCETC hopes to see you there for the 2025 Sustainable Fleet Technology Conference & Expo! For more information, contact Heather Brutz at NCCETC.