The new all-electric van arrives on campus on Monday, Dec. 6. The vehicle is specially wrapped with the MSU logo. Photo courtesy of the Electric Last Mile Solutions.
The Electric Last Mile Solutions, or ELMS, began piloting an ELMS Urban Delivery commercial electric vehicle on campus Monday, Dec. 6.
The pilot run is a part of ELMS’s EV Campus Program, an initiative that allows universities to test an ELMS Urban Delivery commercial vehicle free of charge for up to four weeks. MSU facilities management leaders will be looking to see if the all-electric van is feasible for their on-campus fleet.
In addition to providing the van, ELMS will also be installing its telematic devices in MSU’s current vehicles in order to analyze duty cycle data. This data will be used to propose customized solutions to reduce carbon emissions, lower vehicle maintenance costs and adopt electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
“Not only do universities have a chance to pilot the actual vehicles, as we'll do at Michigan State,” ELMS sales vice president Brandon Anulewicz said. “But, they’ll also receive a comprehensive assessment of their current fleet needs. So, it's really consultative. We use data analytics so we can best understand how they're using their fleet, make it operate as efficient as we can and then obviously have the benefits of going electric.”
MSU has been conducting extensive innovative mobility research on campus — the university already owns two autonomous cars, multiple smaller autonomous vehicles and has recently added the new autonomous bus.
The EV Campus Program is designed to assist universities in meeting their environmental, social, sustainability and governance goals, as well as to provide universities solutions for fleet optimization, emissions reduction and cost savings.
MSU is one of the first universities to have partnered with ELMS through their EV Campus Program.
Hybrid and electric vehicles significantly reduce emissions in comparison to conventional vehicles and also significantly lower fuel costs, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
“(Universities) are really one of the front runners that are trying to make a change to help the larger global impact on greenhouse emissions and CO2 reduction,” Anulewicz said. “So overall, this is just extremely important to help the overall sustainability targets for university and our communities.”
MSU was recently recognized as one of the nation’s top green colleges in the 2022 Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges. This is the third consecutive year that MSU has received this recognition. This year, MSU ranked in at number 21. The list commends schools that have made strong commitments and progress in sustainability.
“(MSU) is helping make a greener planet,” Anulewicz said. “And, (MSU students) should be proud and especially—to not put a pun on this—but, ‘Go Green,’ it's in our blood as the Michigan State student body.”
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