DISPATCH board program initially funded by the Coronavirus Aid , Relief , and Economic Security Act . The goal is to support remote learning and “ promote equitable access to highly effective teachers ,” according to State School Board documents . Utah public schools have utilized remote learning in varying degrees , some to serve students who are isolating due to illness or COVID-19 exposure or because they have opted for virtual learning this school year , and others that have been forced to pivot to online learning because of active COVID-19 cases in their school . Salt Lake City is the only school district that has solely offered remote instruction since the start of the school year , and it has labored to provide broadband access and laptops to its 20,000-plus students who need them . As State Superintendent of Public Instruction Sydnee Dickson explained : “ We have to treat broadband as an essential utility , like electricity , in order to bridge the digital divide and resulting knowledge gap for families .” – by Marjorie Cortez for Deseret News
Lightning eMotors produces electric vehicles for the medium-duty commercial market .
Lightning eMotors to list on NYSE through merger
Lightning eMotors , a leading provider of complete electrification solutions for commercial fleets , and GigCapital3 , Inc . ( GIK or GigCapital3 ), a Technology , Media and Telecom ( TMT ) Private-to-Public Equity ( PPE ) ™ corporation , today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination that will result in Lightning eMotors becoming a publicly listed company . Upon closing of the transaction , the combined operating company will be named Lightning eMotors , Inc . and will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ZEV . Lightning eMotors is a high-growth electric vehicle manufacturer focused on urban commercial zero-emission vehicles . Lightning eMotors is the only operator with a full range of class 3-7 battery-electric and fuel cell electric vehicles in production today , addressing the large and growing fleet electrification market . The Company ’ s unique modular architecture , software-enabled platform , and integration capabilities provide a scalable , cost-effective solution to a highly segmented and customized market . Lightning eMotors ’ complete electrification solutions cover medium- and heavyduty vocational vehicles including ambulances , delivery trucks , bucket trucks , food trucks , school buses and coach buses , among others . Lightning eMotors ’ significant time-to-market advantages over competitors have enabled the Company to capture a diverse base of blue-chip fleet customers , including Fluid Trucks , ABC Companies , ACE Parking and California State Hospitals . Currently , Lightning eMotors has a contracted order backlog of approximately 1,500 vehicles for delivery in 2021 and 2022 , including the world ’ s first fuel cell electric Class 6 truck . Lightning eMotors has the country ’ s largest commercial zero-emission fleet vehicle manufacturing facility in the U . S . with annual production capacity of 1,000 vehicles today and expanding to 3,000 in 2021 and over 20,000 by 2025 . “ Today marks an important step forward in Lightning eMotors ’ mission to lead the commercial medium-duty zero-emission vehicle market ,” said Lightning eMotors ’ co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Tim Reeser . “ Over the last 12 years , Lightning eMotors has built its modular hardware and software platform , partnering with fleets all over the U . S . to develop best-in-class zero-emission battery-electric and fuel cell electric commercial solutions . With an estimated worldwide annual total addressable market opportunity of $ 67 billion for Class 3-7 vehicles , we see tremendous demand from fleets to transition their commercial vehicles from internal combustion engines to zero-emission solutions at an attractive total cost of ownership , even without state and federal grants . With municipal regulations creating zero-emission zones in 30-plus cities worldwide and corporate mandates for zero emissions at many of the largest fleet operators in the world , Lightning eMotors is poised to capitalize on the regulatory and social shift to environmentally friendly commercial vehicles . We are excited to partner with GigCapital3 and leverage their extensive entrepreneurial , operational , and capital markets expertise , as we scale the business as a public company . The capital raised in this transaction will enable Lightning eMotors to accelerate its growth plans and fulfill significant demand from our customers , including some of the most recognizable transportation , public safety , and e-commerce companies in the United States .” “ GigCapital3 is thrilled to partner with Lightning eMotors , using our Private-to-Public Equity ( PPE ) ™ platform , where GigCapital3 brings its management ’ s well-recognized and decades-long technology public-market operational and entrepreneurial expertise to enable the successful transition of a high-growth EV company like Lightning eMotors to a publicly traded entity ,” said Dr . Raluca Dinu , founding managing partner of GigCapital Global and board member of GigCapital3 . “ Tim and his exceptional management team have successfully built out a proprietary , cost-efficient modular architecture , which is scalable and protected by robust IP that is far ahead of its competition . As a public company , Lightning eMotors will have a stronger capital structure to invest in capacity expansion , develop additional technology — both organically and through acquisitions . The combination of Lightning eMotors and GigCapital3 brings unique , attractive , and promising opportunities to all stockholders and stakeholders , while substantiating our commitment to support one of the highest impact mega-trends of our lifetime , electrification of mobility solutions . We look forward to working with the Lightning eMotors team to build the industry leading zero-emission commercial EV company .”
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