DeJoy Decision To Kill Electric Postal Fleet Hands China a Win

The following article was published on Medium in March 2022.

Who killed an electrified United States Postal Service fleet? According to a Washington Post report the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and it’s a tragedy for the made in America movement potentially handing China another win.

Passenger cars are catnip for those seeking alpha and saving the planet. Yet, electrifying light duty vehicles (LDV) like mail trucks and delivery vans could be key to solving our climate woes and giving American manufacturing a comeback.

The USPS is the largest civilian user of government vehicles across the country. That’s why DeJoy’s decision to “upgrade” the fleet to 165,000 mail trucks powered by gas instead of electric is demoralizing for our industry and those that care about the climate crisis.

Only 1.5 percent of the entire federal fleet is electrified. This decision, over the objection of the White House, the EPA, and members of Congress, decreases our ability to be competitive with China by forcing manufacturers and their suppliers to continue investing in legacy vehicle components.

The National Resources Defense Council estimates that this decision will mean nearly 600,000 more megatons of carbon dioxide will fill our skies every year. This is because light duty vehicles, especially those following the typical “start and stop” delivery routes are the perfect market for electrification but also for polluting.

Emission Comparison Adapted from the Final Environmental Impact Statement

The decision to go all electric just makes logical business sense. Don’t take my word for it. A USPS survey from over a decade ago found 97 percent of the vehicles in their fleet, nearly all on fixed routes of about 18 miles per day, would be ideal for that type of transition.

As the CEO and founder of Sparkz, a next generation battery manufacturer re-inventing the supply chain, I know it could have been a once-in-a-lifetime business opportunity. Since the USPS study in 2009, battery makers have increased capacity and performance significantly. Sparkz is on the verge of increasing exponentially, while also reducing the costs.

Yet our industry cannot grow jobs and help meet global emission reduction goals if the electrification gap between China and the U.S. continues to grow. China now produces nearly 50 percent of all electric vehicles worldwide. European manufacturers make up another 25 percent. As the U.S. consumer demands more electric vehicles, suppliers will need more U.S. based manufacturers not only in passenger vehicles but, maybe more importantly, in other light duty modes.

The Biden Administration led by Secretary Jennifer Granholm has made securing the battery supply chain a priority of investment and policy. DeJoy’s action directly contradicts this important work. The boost manufacturers like us would have received from an all-electric USPS mail delivery truck fleet cannot be understated.

The electric boom in last mile delivery is already here despite the USPS decision.

Amazon invested $3.8 billion in Rivian. FedEx hopes to have 250,000 small and medium sized electric vehicles by 2040. Walmart has reserved 5,000 delivery vans from GM’s BrightDrop. UPS has made a significant investment in startup Arrival, while also reserving 10,000 vehicles.

Mr. DeJoy seems to want to run the USPS like many of these businesses. If that is the case, he probably should start acting like it.

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Founder & CEO

Dr. Sanjiv Malhotra

Dr. Sanjiv Malhotra is the founder and CEO of Sparkz—the battery start-up reinventing the energy supply chain.

 

Malhotra has been a leader in the energy sector for nearly three decades as a founder, investor and executive. Most recently, he served as the inaugural director for the Energy Investor Center at the U.S Department of Energy (DOE), serving under both Democratic and Republican administrations.

 

At DOE, Malhotra led the Obama Administration’s initiative to boost public-private partnerships to accelerate the commercialization of technologies developed in national research centers like Oak Ridge National Labs.

 

Malhotra was recruited to the Department of Energy after a successful exit of Oorja Protonics—the world leader in methanol fuel cells—which he founded and led as CEO for 10 years. Oorja raised $50 Million in equity financing from leading VCs such as Sequoia, DAG Ventures, Artis Capital and others during his tenure. He boosted Oorja’s revenue and profitability growth, while expanding operations globally in Japan, China, South Africa, Mexico, and India.

 

Oorja was acquired in 2014 by the Private Equity firm MinXing Growth Fund.

 

As an investor and consultant, Malhotra has worked at leading venture capital firms, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers as an advisor on clean energy and advanced materials.

 

Earlier in his career, Malhotra led the engineering and product development team at H Power, a pioneer in hydrogen fuel cells. As part of the management team, he managed the successful IPO, which raised more than $100 million in August 2000.

 

He began his career as a post-doctoral fellow at the renowned Lawrence Berkeley National Labs on electrochemical storage systems. Dr. Malhotra has authored seven patents and more than 40 publications in various fields of energy storage technology and materials. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering and an M.B.A from University of Iowa.