Accelerating the Future of Trucking and Electric Transportation
Each year, America’s trucking industry transports billions of tons of freight locally, regionally, and cross country. Most Americans recognize trucking as a pillar of our economy, but trucking could also be a pillar in our nationwide decarbonization plans. Electrified trucking is not only real and ready today, but also primed for acceleration as states like California and New York have made strides toward commitments to electrify other transportation sectors.
Although Heavy-Duty trucking only accounts for a fraction of the total vehicles on the road, this segment is responsible for approximately 25 percent of all transportation emissions. Transitioning these vehicles to electric could be among a suite of options to help the U.S. reach economy-wide net-zero emissions goal by 2050, equitably.
Today’s ports and highway systems, which are used daily by Medium- and Heavy-Duty trucks as part of their freight routes, are often surrounded by the lowest-income communities. Their ongoing exposure to diesel emissions means these communities are often subjected to high levels of air pollution. Electrifying freight routes would likely mean reducing emissions in these communities – and potentially improving the health and wellbeing of marginalized populations.
While hurdles remain to widespread adoption, especially in the Heavy-Duty trucking sector, there are numerous recent developments that show some key segments of trucking may be ready for partial or full electrification – in part due to research and development conducted over the last 30 years at EPRI.
In June 2021, the North American Council for Freight Efficiency’s Run on Less - Electric (RoL-E) demonstration featured 13 trucks driving actual routes and carrying real freight. The demonstration showed that some electric Heavy-Duty vehicles aren’t just on the horizon – they’re already here; in fact, roughly 50 percent of Heavy-Duty Class 8 Trucks and all Medium-Duty box trucks can be electrified with battery technology that exists today.
A key factor affecting this technology adoption is route distance. Research from RMI shows 65 percent of Medium-Duty and 49 percent of Heavy-Duty trucks are electrifiable today because these vehicles spend most of their time traveling fewer than 300 miles between destinations. Current battery and charging technology would allow these vehicles to charge overnight to meet this range. What’s more, research from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory shows that battery electric vehicles become cost-competitive to conventional diesel for smaller trucks before 2030 and short-haul (<500 miles) heavy trucks before 2035.
Looking beyond the near-term transition for short-haul and regional trucking, hurdles remain on the acceleration of nationwide, high-speed charging infrastructure for long-haul vehicles – including readiness of the electric power grid. One area EPRI research has focused on is creating standardization in charging. The concept of ensuring every truck can plug in to every charging station may seem simple but requires massive coordination among truck manufacturers and charging manufacturers. In the early 2000s, EPRI and other industry collaborators developed an open, standard connector for light-duty consumer vehicles in North America. Over the last decade, EPRI has supported development of standards to support high power charging for Medium- and Heavy-Duty vehicles, including transit buses.
With this foundation established, the next push will be getting to scale. In the past year, EPRI and CALSTART began working with the California Energy Commission to launch the country’s first zero-emissions, freight-charging corridor network along California’s freight corridors. The multi-phase project – the Research Hub for Electric Technologies in Truck Applications (RHETTA) – began with a community-first approach, engaging pollution-impacted communities, low-income communities, and tribal communities to help create and guide the initiative.
Through 2025, EPRI will be demonstrating two high-powered chargers that can provide 100 miles of range in less than 10 minutes at a comparable cost to diesel. The charging stations will be near Southern California’s two ports, where much of the country’s imported products arrive. RHETTA will also develop an integrated and actionable plan for a statewide charging corridor network and templates for charging infrastructure. Having a statewide network of charging infrastructure increases the confidence of the Medium- and Heavy-Duty truck operators, knowing that they can charge their vehicles along these corridors. Helping the scale-up and growth of electric Heavy-Duty trucking throughout a heavily traveled route will certainly help the state and country with its clean energy targets.
Lastly, planning for the increased energy load is another key area of research. One of the questions EPRI researchers are asked most often is, “Can the grid support wide-scale EV adoption?” The short answer is yes, but that will require coordination by all parties. Successful electrification of the Heavy-Duty trucking sector necessitates careful planning and coordination with energy providers, manufacturers, and regulators, and consideration of other transportation segments. eTrucking has different needs and requirements than consumer EV operations – which will influence when charging takes place and where infrastructure is built. Understanding these industry- and fleet-specific demands is essential to designing infrastructure plans that can meet future loads.
With battery and charging technology ready for some sectors today, continued focus on collaboration for the electrification of the Heavy-Duty sector will be an important aspect of the clean energy transition.
Dan Bowermaster is senior program manager of Electric Transportation at EPRI, and Watson Collins is the senior technical executive of Transportation at EPRI.
