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School buses and V2G tech.
November 20, 2024

Tech Brew

Chase

It’s Wednesday. We spill a lot of pixels explaining how workers and companies are using AI, but we’re wondering how you (yes, you, the person reading this email) use AI in your work and personal life. Fill out this survey, the results of which we’ll include in a story at the end of the year. (It’s anonymous, so you don’t have to worry about your boss reading about any questionable AI use.) Still need an incentive? We’ll enter you into a raffle to win a $250 Amex gift card.

In today’s edition:

Jordyn Grzelewski, Tricia Crimmins, Annie Saunders

FUTURE OF TRAVEL

Battery on wheels

Plug attached to school bus connecting it to the power grid Illustration: Anna Kim, Photos: Adobe Stock

The big yellow buses that ferry more than 20 million kids across the country to school increasingly feature assets that could transform school transportation as we know it: big batteries.

With decarbonization targets looming and an influx of federal funding in the last few years, the largest public transportation system in the US––nearly 500,000 school buses––is in the early phases of going electric.

There’s uncertainty about how much progress on this effort will be made during a second Trump administration. But the groundwork has been laid not only to decarbonize school buses but to use them to unlock the benefits of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technologies, which allow assets to push energy back to the electric grid in times of need, potentially making the grid more reliable and resilient.

In fact, stakeholders across the clean-energy sector tend to view school buses as the perfect use case for V2G. That’s because they’re uniquely suited for it: They contain massive batteries, run predictable routes, and spend lots of time idling, particularly during the times of day when energy demand peaks and renewable sources like solar are in short supply.

“School buses are the ideal asset for electrification and V2G,” Ritu Narayan, founder and CEO of electric school bus startup Zum, told Tech Brew. “They are a very large battery on wheels.”

Keep reading here.—JG

   

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GREEN TECH

Stated efforts

A globe covered in "I voted" stickers Francis Scialabba

Although voters ushered in a second Trump term earlier this month, those who went to the polls in seven states also decided in favor of climate-focused ballot measures that proposed funding environmental projects, protecting coastal regions, and investing in renewable energy infrastructure, among other initiatives.

Three of the measures, specifically those in Washington, California, and Rhode Island, could bolster green tech innovation and production.

The climate victories in those three states run in stark contrast to President-elect Trump’s campaign promises, which include reversing efforts by President Biden’s administration to rely more on clean energy than fossil fuels.

But Adam Snyder, the senior director of the Nature Conservancy, an environmental nonprofit that worked on the ballot measures, said when climate action is made local, the public supports it.

“When we’re able to localize [climate action] and hyper-focus it in a ballot initiative, we really see strong support across the board from all political stripes and in all sections of the country,” Snyder told Tech Brew.

Keep reading here.—TC

   

FUTURE OF TRAVEL

Need a ride?

Image of pedestrians crossing a street in front of a Waymo driverless car. Waymo

Residents of California, Nevada, and Texas will soon have more opportunities to use an autonomous vehicle thanks to a spate of new driverless deployments.

Waymo announced earlier this month that it has officially opened up its robotaxi service, Waymo One, to all riders in Los Angeles after offering limited service there. Waymo vehicles have been on the road in LA for months, but the service was only available via a waitlist that grew to some 300,000 prospective riders, according to Waymo.

The Alphabet-owned startup recently has gained even more ground as the leader of the robotaxi sector. It’s now providing over 150,000 paid rides per week in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, according to the company.

“Our service has matured quickly and our riders are embracing the many benefits of fully autonomous driving,” Tekedra Mawakana, Waymo’s co-CEO, said in a statement.

Keep reading here.—JG

   

Together With Nasdaq

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BITS AND BYTES

Stat: 30.9%. That’s how much Microsoft’s indirect carbon dioxide emissions grew between 2020 and 2024, IT Brew reported as part of a story about the tech giant’s plans to use wood to build data centers.

Quote: “Health systems are trying to debate internally how they’re going to handle the risks and benefits of this kind of technology that, on some levels, they have very little control over because they are using tools that they’re not building themselves.”—Kellie Owens, an assistant professor of population health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, to Healthcare Brew on using AI transcription tools in medical settings

Read: Brands are finding engaged, niche audiences on Substack (Marketing Brew)

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