St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) to Deploy Lightning eMotors ZEV4™ Electric Shuttle Buses
- Vehicles were purchased in part with Federal Aviation Administration's Voluntary Airport Low Emissions Program grant, applicable due to ZEV4's Buy American compliance
- Vehicles will be operated by STL partner SP Plus Parking to provide inter-terminal transportation
- Lightning ZEV4 shuttles will be deployed in Q4 2023
Lightning eMotors (NYSE:ZEV), a leading provider of zero-emission, medium-duty commercial vehicles and electric vehicle (EV) technology for fleets, announced today it sold five Lightning ZEV4™ shuttle buses to St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL). STL partner SP Plus Parking (SP Plus) will operate the vehicles, transporting passengers between the airport's two terminals. The deal also includes five Level 2 chargers and one Level 3 DC fast charger, currently set for delivery later this year.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230912356903/en/
Lightning eMotors' electric shuttle buses will provide emissions-free inter-terminal transportation at St. Louis Lambert International Airport (artist's impression, Lightning eMotors)
STL received a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 2023 Voluntary Airport Low Emissions Program (VALE) grant to help fund the purchase of the vehicles and chargers. These grants are only available for the purchase of FAA Buy American compliant vehicles. To ensure its customers could access some of the more than $5 billion in available FTA/FAA funding, Lightning has certified the ZEV4 product line to be both FAA Buy American and FTA Buy America compliant.
"Our team has worked hard to ensure our products meet the high standards required to receive any of the billions of federal dollars that are available to support the expansion of the EV ecosystem. This order is a great validation that our vehicles and charging technology are ideally suited to help airports achieve their business and environmental goals," said Kash Sethi, chief revenue officer for Lightning eMotors. "As our first order purchased with funds from the FAA's Buy American VALE funding program, it is a clear case study in why these grants are crucial to accelerating EV deployments at airports nationwide."
Lightning is fast becoming an EV manufacturer of choice for airport deployments. For example, ACE Parking's fleet of 24 Lightning shuttle buses at San Diego International Airport have amassed over one million miles since 2020 and continues to provide emissions-free transport to hundreds of passengers each day, while delivering low cost, reliable service. In addition, Lightning recently completed a test of its Lightning Mobile charger at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
"The Lightning ZEV4 will allow us to deliver EV shuttles to those that use St. Louis Lambert International Airport sooner," said Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge, STL's airport director and CEO. "St. Louis Lambert International is committed to sustainable, clean energy practices and we're excited for passengers to begin experiencing that firsthand with our new shuttles."
The five Lightning ZEV4 cutaway vehicles are built on Lightning's second generation, GM4500-based platform and will be fitted with shuttle bodies. They are expected to travel 100 miles per shift, with at least one operating around the clock using the Lightning-supplied DC fast charger during charging breaks, while the others will be used daily and charged overnight on Level 2 chargers. Lightning will also train local service providers to maintain the airport's first EVs.
"This process will allow us to move from thinking Green to being an airport that practices the Green concept," said Hamm-Niebruegge.
"Airports provide an ideal use case for electric commercial vehicle fleets, particularly when you couple accessible FAA funding with the real-world operating benefits of EVs. This is an exciting expansion of our airport customer base and we're confident it's just the beginning of our work with airports across the country," added Sethi.
To learn how to electrify your fleet with Lightning eMotors, please visit lightningemotors.com.
About Lightning eMotors
Lightning eMotors (NYSE:ZEV) has been providing specialized and sustainable fleet solutions since 2009, deploying complete zero-emission-vehicle (ZEV) solutions for commercial fleets since 2018. In that time, we have deployed a variety of vehicle classes and applications including but not limited to cargo and passenger vans, ambulances, transit and shuttle buses, school buses, specialty work trucks, and electric powertrains for school buses, transit buses and motor coaches—surpassing five million real-world miles for its collective commercial electric vehicle fleets. The Lightning eMotors team designs, engineers, customizes, and manufactures zero-emission vehicles to support the wide array of fleet customer needs with a full suite of control software, telematics, analytics, and charging solutions to simplify the buying and ownership experience and maximize uptime and energy efficiency. To learn more, visit our website at https://lightningemotors.com.
About STL:
St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) is the primary commercial airport for the St. Louis metro area and parts of eastern Missouri and southern Illinois serving 15.6 million passengers annually. STL is an Enterprise Fund Department of the City of St. Louis. It is wholly supported by airport user charges. No general fund revenues are used for the operation, administration, promotion or maintenance of airport facilities. For more information, visit www.flystl.com. Follow us on Facebook: @flySTL, Twitter: @flySTL and Instagram: @flySTL.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for historical information herein, matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about the commercial and technology progress and future financial performance of Lightning eMotors, Inc. These forward-looking statements are identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "expand," "enable," "might," "potential," "should," "would" among others. Forward-looking statements in this press release are subject to certain risks and uncertainties inherent in the company's business that could cause actual results or outcomes to vary, including, but not limited to, risks related to Lightning eMotors' operations and business and financial performance; the ability of Lightning eMotors to execute on its business strategy and grow demand for its products and revenue; potential increases in costs or shortage of raw materials; market acceptance of new product offerings; and other risks more fully described in Lightning eMotors' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved, if at all. Lightning eMotors undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230912356903/en/