It’s one thing to invent a new technology. It’s entirely another to get that new product into the market.

Breaking the implementation barrier for cleaner transportation — getting electric cars, buses and trucks onto the roads — is the goal of a new partnership of transportation agencies, state clean air regulators, cities, water and power utilities and business innovators formed this week.

Led by the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, the new grouping will work on creating a plan for changing over the transportation sector in Southern California to clean technologies by the arrival of the Los Angeles Olympic games in 2028.

The road map to zero emissions will be released in September, setting short and long-term goals for transportation in Los Angeles County and region-wide, according to the LACI. The plan will look at what levels of electric power will be needed and how to advance the movement of electric trucks into warehouses and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, where 40 percent of the goods into the United States originate.

“LACI is a hub for innovations that could change the world — and it has helped Los Angeles grow into the green tech capital of America. I’m excited to work with this extraordinary group of partners who share our commitment to ease congestion and clean the air we breathe,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti in a prepared statement.

Climate action

One important player that has joined the coalition is the California Air Resources Board, the lead agency in cutting tailpipe emissions from vehicles. CARB also is the lead agency in charge of implementing the state’s goal in reducing global warming-causing greenhouse gases 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050.

In California, 86 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions are related to the burning of fossil fuels and more than 50 percent comes from cars and trucks.

“Transportation is the lynchpin of California’s climate action plan,” said Mary Nichols, chair of CARB in a prepared statement. “We must focus on electrifying our cars, trucks and buses in the coming decade to be able to meet our air quality and climate goals.”

The group includes: LACI, based in the Arts District of Los Angeles; the city of Los Angeles; CARB, Southern California Edison; Pacific Gas & Electric; Los Angeles Department of Water and Power; Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). The group is chaired by Matt Petersen, president and CEO of the LACI.

“We call this an unprecedented partnership for a reason,” Petersen said during a phone interview. “Utilities have never been in the transportation business before, and we have the CARB. Plus, the mayor of the biggest city in California. And we intend to engage other cities.”

Emissions

Ron Nichols, president of SCE, makes the point that shooting for 2028 would accelerate the state’s 2030 carbon emissions goal.

“To do that we have to make a major effort on the biggest component of greenhouse gas pollution, which is transportation,” he said in a statement.

Metro has already committed to replacing its fleet of compressed natural gas buses with electric, battery-powered transit buses by 2030.

“We are proud to be part of this partnership convened by LACI,” said Metro CEO Phil Washington in a statement.

The group will use its power in numbers to leverage dollars from Cap and Trade, a fund that polluters pay into for the purchase of air pollution credits, or other pots of funding available from the state and federal government.

“We’ve created an alignment that is pretty powerful that will allow us to move faster,” Petersen said, adding: “It is not a small task.”