new wheels

City of Houston’s EV fleet and charging capabilities are set to expand

Houston now has 333 hybrid electric vehicles and 88 battery electric vehicles. Photo via houstontx.gov

The City of Houston is getting closer to its goal of all non-emergency, light-duty municipal vehicles to be electric by 2030.

According to late-June status report from the city, Houston now has 333 hybrid electric vehicles and 88 battery electric vehicles. An additional 67 battery electric pickups, 20 hybrid electric pickups, and 21 hybrid electric SUVs deliveries are expected to be up and running before the end of the calendar year, and expects to receive 27 battery-electric SUVs and 13 battery-electric pickups in the next 12 months.

"With almost half of carbon emissions in Houston coming from the transportation sector and a majority of those emissions coming from single occupancy vehicles, electrification is an important part of our climate action plan," Mayor Sylvester Turner said in the statement. "I am pleased to see the ongoing progress and am confident we will meet our goals."

According to Evolve Houston — a public-private partnership founded with CenterPoint, NRG, Shell, and the University of Houston to promote EV sales — about 9 percent of new cars in Houston were registered as EVs last year. This means that Houston's EV adoption rate was 2.5 percent over the US average, according to the statement.

As part of the Houston Climate Action Plan, the city is also working with Evolve Houston to build upon the Bayou City's EV charging infrastructure as well.

Houston currently has 57 installed chargers, two of which are DC fast chargers, according to the status report. The city recently signed a contract to purchase 144 level 2 battery chargers from Siemens and another 15 chargers are slated to be installed at the Houston Health Department's Stadium Drive location in the coming weeks.

Due to supply chain issues, the City's Fleet Management Department is also considering rolling out a mobile charging option and home-charging vehicles for emergency response employees to help reduce costs while still moving toward the city's goals.

Evolve Houston, founded in 2019 through Houston's Climate Action Plan, relaunched about a year ago with a new Equity Program to address poor air quality and limited access to public transportation in vulnerable communities.

It's one of many efforts related to Houston's goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 and leading the global energy transition. In March the city partnered with The Hertz Corp. to triple Houston's EV rental fleet, as well add to the city's charging infrastructure and EV education and training opportunities. In recent years the city has launched a solar co-op, opened new labs and is slated to introduce a new fleet of 20 battery-powered electric buses in the near future.

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A View From HETI

LiNova will use the funds to advance its polymer cathode battery technology. Photo via Getty Images

A California startup that's revolutionizing polymer cathode battery technology has announced its series A round of funding with support from Houston-based energy transition leaders.

LiNova Energy Inc. closed a $15.8 million series A round led by Catalus Capital. Saft, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies, which has its US HQ in Houston, and Houston-based Chevron Technology Ventures, also participated in the round with a coalition of other investors.

LiNova will use the funds with its polymer cathode battery to advance the energy storage landscape, according to the company. The company uses a high-energy polymer battery technology that is designed to allow material replacement of the traditional cathode that is made up of cobalt, nickel, and other materials.

The joint development agreement with Saft will have them collaborate to develop the battery technology for commercialization in Saft's key markets.

“We are proud to collaborate with LiNova in scaling up its technology, leveraging the extensive experience of Saft's research teams, our newest prototype lines, and our industrial expertise in battery cell production," Cedric Duclos, CEO of Saft, says in a news release.

CTV recently announced its $500 million Future Energy Fund III, which aims to lead on emerging mobility, energy decentralization, industrial decarbonization, and the growing circular economy. Chevron has promised to spend $10 billion on lower carbon energy investments and projects by 2028.

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