Daimler Truck’s Detroit Manufacturing Plant – From Diesel to EVs
Daimler Truck’s Detroit® Manufacturing Plant produces 400 engines, 250 transmissions, and 1,300 axles daily. The 85-year-old factory is known for making diesel engines but is now working to be a leader in the transition to sustainable transportation. SBN Detroit interviewed Apoorva Mathur, remanufacturing – “reman” – electric product strategy analyst for Daimler Truck North America about the remanufacturing, reuse, and recycling side of the business. Q: How do you approach electrification? A: Our goal is to provide the ePowertrain solution that leads the transition to sustainable transportation. Everything we do pushes toward promoting sustainable transportation. Q: In your role, you focus on the sustainability of Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) Powertrain components through remanufacturing, reuse, and recycling. How does this work? A: Clearly, part of leading the transition to sustainable transportation is providing an option that has zero emissions, but from an aftermarket perspective, it’s important to be conscious about what we do with components once they come out of the truck. We work to reuse as many components as possible through the remanufacturing process so that we are recycling what we already have. A battery has a lifecycle that extends way beyond what is usable in a vehicle, so to use that battery responsibly it has to have secondary applications. Many times, batteries that come out of a vehicle are used for peak shaving. Peak shaving is utilizing a battery storage system during peak energy usage hours to offset the amount of energy being pulled from the main grid. This reduces the load on the grid. Used batteries can also be used in a microgrid solution whereby some kind of solar or wind-powered system is connected to a battery storage system and energy from solar is used to power the batteries. This is a self-contained situation that does not rely on the grid system at all. Companies can also build used batteries into chargers to provide backup power. So, there are different ways batteries and components can be remanufactured and reused. The recycling component is pretty straightforward. We have a recycling program and a company that disposes of batteries and materials responsibly and also recycles material back into the supply chain. Q: In your role, you also support special projects that advance battery electric vehicle (BEV) adoption, such as creating a charging hub at your Redford location. Can you tell us more about that? A: Yes. The state of Michigan secured $13 million in funding in partnership with Daimler Truck North America and DTE Energy to develop the mobility charging hub earlier this year. We will build a multimodal charging hub there, helping companies to transition their fleets. The charging hub will support heavy trucks and also passenger vehicles and more with the intent to help the entire community transition to EVs. Q: What is driving your change to electrification? A: The largest driver is a combination of emissions standards becoming stricter and also a greater focus on sustainability as a whole on the global stage. Daimler Truck is committed to the Paris Agreement globally, and we are doing our part to provide our customers with zero-emission options. Daimler Truck as a whole is looking for what best suits our customers’ needs, and we are electrifying products across the board and will continue to go down that path. We are also looking at other options such as hydrogen. We need to explore everything to ensure we are giving the best options to our customers. Q: What drives your passion for what you do? A: This is so new for all of us. I’m constantly learning. We are faced with something new every day when comes to requirements from a regulatory perspective and we are constantly getting customer feedback. It’s unchartered territory for all of us and we are all taking this learning journey together in this industry. That’s fun for me. It’s not the business as usual that Detroit Diesel has been doing for 85 years. It’s new and different and exciting. Q: What are the biggest challenges? A: Again, it’s unscripted. It involves so much effort as an industry to make this switch. We can build the product, but we also need the infrastructure. There are gas stations on every corner but supporting EVs is brand new. Also, we need support from utilities. Grid support requires more resiliency as we switch, and there is a lot of work to be done here. When we say we are transforming the transportation industry we mean it. We are taking every component and turning it into something different and it requires so much from everyone. Q: What are the opportunities? A: We’ve seen a whole new level of energy and innovation coming from all sides. New suppliers and players coming into the space every day. It’s exciting to see these companies coming into the industry to push and innovate. On the infrastructure side, it’s the same. New data companies are looking at how to use power in areas to help the grid. There are new charging management systems, new charging suppliers, etc. It’s given the industry a chance to innovate and go outside the norm of what we provide. Q: How do you think the work you are doing impacts Southeast Michigan in terms of innovation? A: Detroit is the place to be when it comes to sustainable transportation. And Detroit is the hub for all things mobility. The Battery Show North America is in Detroit each year, and there is so much knowledge at that show. It’s all being done here. Detroit is the center of competency. It’s a great place to learn and innovate and partner and work within. Q: What does the future look like? A: We will see change on the roads around us. Electric cars are growing in production and adoption in this area. We will see different types of technology being used for different applications as we learn what’s effective. We will see a mixed mobility strategy across the board and that’s exciting. I also
How Does Consumers Energy Activate Around People, the Planet, and Prosperity?
How does Consumers Energy, which provides natural gas and electricity to 6.7 million of Michigan’s 10 million residents, with 8,000+ staff members, approach sustainability? SBN Detroit spoke to Brandon Hofmeister, Senior Vice President of Governmental, Regulatory and Public Affairs for CMS Energy and Consumers Energy, about how the company executes its sustainability goals and about some of its current projects. Q: When did you begin sustainability efforts at Consumers Energy? A: From a very broad sense, the company has been focused on sustainability since it was founded. Our current intentional focus to prioritize sustainability specifically within our corporate strategy has been around for about a decade. Q: What is the organizational structure around executing your sustainability goals? A: Our corporate strategy is centered around a triple bottom line of people, planet, and prosperity with measurable goals that cascade down throughout the whole business and that are embedded in everything we do. We don’t necessarily source it to one department or team. We do have an Environment and Sustainability Council that includes top leaders and executives and officers who meet regularly to monitor progress toward key sustainability goals. We also have a Chief Diversity Officer and a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and this overlaps and encompasses our sustainability objectives. It’s very cross-functional – everyone owns it and it’s embedded within all roles and levels of the company. Q; Please give some examples of initiatives and priorities in place around people, planet and prosperity. A: Regarding the planet, I would say our biggest initiative is transforming our electricity generation mix. We will retire our remaining coal plants in 2025 and move completely to clean energy, reducing carbon emissions by 60% from 2005 levels. This is a very aggressive goal but as a company, we are excited about it. From a people perspective, we are focused on dramatically improving electric reliability by hardening systems to stand up to more intense storm activity and leveraging best practices in technology and management to reduce outages. We are also deeply focused on the affordability of our services. We’re doing a lot of work to create payment and assistance and energy efficiency programs. We are also dedicated to finding ways to take cost out of our processes and the cost we pass on to our customers, so they get the best value for the services provided. This is equally important for our business customers. We must make sure electricity is cost-effective so businesses can continue to thrive and create jobs here in Michigan. Regarding prosperity, part of the triple bottom line is keeping our own business healthy and profitable for our staff and also our investors. We are expected to deliver consistent and low-risk financial results and that affects our community and the economy overall. Q: Consumers Energy employs more than 8,000 people. How do you share the vision and facilitate action? A: How we approach the goals in itself is important and I think has been impactful. We set breakthrough goals and unleash the team to find new and innovative solutions. It is challenging to set goals that we don’t yet know how to achieve, but this can also be very inspiring, as long as you give the “why” behind the goal. Our team inherently works for our friends and neighbors, and we want to deliver for them. So, whether it’s decreasing carbon emissions or increasing electric reliability, we set goals, give the why, and then let the power of the people take it forward. The outcomes are often quite remarkable and solutions we never thought possible are unveiled. Q: What do you think is one of the most impactful sustainability practices you’ve put into place to date? A: Our clean energy program is a good example. We set an ambitious goal to get to net zero carbon emissions by 2040. Within the framework of conventional wisdom, this originally appeared to be impossible. But the goal has opened up new ways of thinking. Retiring the coal plants was originally slated for 2040, but that’s been moved up to 2025 as I mentioned. We have a north star to reach and are working on this carbon goal every day. Q: What do you point to as an impactful project you are putting into place in the next three to five years? A: Electrification of vehicles is a big game changer for our industry. The company has a breakthrough goal to have a million EVs in service by 2030. This is great for the planet and great for our customers’ pocketbooks. The more electricity we all use, the more electric bills decrease. There are set costs for infrastructure, and if more people are using that infrastructure the cost per unit of electricity goes down. So, it’s a win-win. Q: How do you integrate the community and keep them informed? A: This is a huge part of our work. We spend a lot of time communicating what we are working on and why, but it’s a two-way street. We also want to understand the people and community we serve, so we conduct formal and informal stakeholder outreach. We do materiality assessments internally and externally. We engage customers and educate them on how they can save energy by considering an electric vehicle or participating in renewable energy programs. Most people don’t think about their utility service unless the power out goes out, but it’s important to continually communicate our broader mission. We spend time engaging in a variety of channels with customers to have two-way communication. Q: What advice would you give to SE Michigan businesses when it comes to laying out sustainability goals and achieving them? A: Start with what’s important to the business. Understand the impact the business is having and focus on a goal. Also engage stakeholders. Set ambitious goals and always communicate the why. It’s easier to bring people in when they are engaged versus being told. And finally, don’t have too many goals. Prioritize, set a few very ambitious and solid goals,
