While passenger electric vehicle (EV) adoption has happened faster than experts’ predictions (sales increased 65 percent last year), the shift hasn’t happened as quickly for electric commercial vehicles, according to a Wall Street Journal energy report.
Experts have warned that it’s critical to replace diesel-engine trucks and big rigs with “greener” vehicles, as medium and heavy-duty trucks comprise just 5 percent of U.S. vehicles, but are responsible for 23 percent of transportation-related greenhouse gases transmitted, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Billions of dollars in new federal and state subsidies and stricter regulations have led to some optimism that the move to green-energy trucks will happen faster. A number of roadblocks still exist, however:
Dueling technologies
Batteries, fuel cells and burning hydrogen in a modified internal combustion engine are among the methods competing to replace diesel engines, The Wall Street Journal reports. This competition, which doesn’t exist in the passenger EV industry, might make truck buyers hesitant to choose one path over another.
Not choosing one solution leads to another issue, however. Multiple options could require significant funding to build two “filling station” networks—one with high-powered chargers for trucks with batteries and another to refill commercial vehicles with hydrogen tanks.
Cost
Just like with passenger vehicles, electric trucks cost more than their fuel-powered counterparts. When it comes to trucks, battery powered ones can cost more than three times as much as a diesel model. It’s a significant increase compared to the 15 to 25 percent more that electric cars cost versus non-electric. Additionally, battery trucks are heavier, can’t travel as far and take longer to charge.
Access to charging stations
Fleet operators could still face potential challenges when they transition to electric vehicles. It could take up to two years to get the electrical gear they need. Plus, it can be difficult to get the large amount of power required to charge their fleets from the local utility providers.
“I’ve had a number of customer sites that I have worked with where we’ve got longer lead times getting the infrastructure in place than we do for our ability to deliver the trucks,” Keith Brandis, vice president of system solutions partnerships at Volvo Group North America told The Wall Street Journal.
Truck makers are taking steps to make the transition easier, however. These include assisting customers in determining how many chargers they need, where to put them and how much power they will use. It’s an adjustment from the diesel world, where fuel’s delivered to truck depots without much trouble.
“We have to enter into the infrastructure space,” Rakesh Aneja, head of e-mobility for Daimler Truck North America said. “That to me was one of the biggest surprises” about the move to electric.
Accelerating the transition to electric trucks
There are some incentives to encourage companies to switch to electric commercial vehicles. For example, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act allows electric and hydrogen-fuel-cell heavy commercial vehicles purchasers to receive a tax break of up to $40,000 per vehicle. Tax incentives to install electric charging and hydrogen filling stations are also available. The law also provides funds to enhance U.S. vehicle battery production to help reduce costs.
Additionally, some trucking companies’ customers have begun to apply pleasure to move to electric vehicles. Katie Griley, president of Griley Air Freight a company that moves freight in and out of Los Angeles International Airport, told The Wall Street Journal that a client requested a no-emissions truck for its shipping business because one of its customers asked for it. In response, Griley purchased a Volvo electric for $470,000. The diesel model costs approximately $135,000.
It was a steep cost for a smaller company like Griley Air Freight, but Griley moved forward and split the cost with the client.
“(Truck electrification) is coming,” she said. “I’m not going to be left to the side.”
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