#19 Electric Truckin’
Imagine how much more livable our cities would be without the noise and pollution of delivery trucks. Even out here in the sticks of Maine, trucks are a major contributor. Passenger cars and light trucks have gotten much quieter (except for those driving under the influence of testosterone) but step vans, box trucks and semis are just plain loud! Toxic particulate matter from diesel exhaust is a big contributor to air pollution, and trucks produce a serious percentage of our CO2 emissions.
Small trucks
Vehicle purchasing decisions in the trucking industry focus on cold hard cash, with fashion or political statement pretty far down the list. Attitudes of delivery fleet managers have gone from “it’ll never work” to “maybe for small vehicles” to “we can save some real money” in an amazingly short period. At current fuel prices, a gas delivery van driving an average of 100 miles per day will use just over $10,000 a year in fuel versus just under $2,000 for an electric one. If electric vehicles were available, most short haul operations would be ready to starting converting their fleets.
Tesla is now the most valuable car brand in the world, but you may recall that it had a rocky start. The electric truck industry is traveling a similar rough road now, with facility construction and supply chain problems causing delays. Tesla, Ford, GM, Rivian and a crowd of new startups are all slogging through this jungle, rushing to be the first to reliably crank out pickups and delivery vans. Ford seems to be out of the gate, announcing that it would deliver its first batch of 2000 F-150 Lightning pickups this month. It has reservations for more than 200,000.
A recent demonstration project by the Rocky Mountain Institute and the North American Council on Freight Efficiency has found that more than half the freight now delivered by American trucks could be carried with currently available battery technology. Run on Less study. Unfortunately, the supply of trucks is far behind the demand.
Read about the Rivian stock rollercoaster: Motley Fool
The toughest nut is long haul heavy trucking.
Not long ago, it was felt that the only way to clean up long haul trucking was with hydrogen fuel cell technology. In a fuel cell, hydrogen and oxygen are combined to directly produce electricity — no combustion required. Fuel cells, which have been used in space craft for decades, are far more efficient than internal combustion engines and emit only water vapor as exhaust. They have been the subject of intensive research to find ways to make the technology more affordable, but with only limited success.
The pure hydrogen necessary for fuel cells is rare in the natural world. It can be easily produced by several processes, but these all require sizable energy input. If that energy comes from renewable sources, then fuel cell technology can be very clean. Hydrogen is difficult to liquify, and as a gas it has relatively low energy density — fuel for semi rigs would require high pressure tankage, making storage and refilling facilities expensive as compared with diesel. But the efficiency of the overall process would make it more economical in the long run than diesel, so if tractors and infrastructure became available, the long haul industry would eventually make the switch.
In contrast with the modest successes in advancing fuel cell technology, batteries have made tremendous strides in the last 20 years. And, there are several emergent battery technologies that promise even greater gains. This has thrown semi tractor manufacturers onto the horns of a dilemma — fuel cells or batteries? The costs of developing new products are very high. The cost of using both approaches is prohibitive. Choosing the wrong option could be financially disastrous.
Long haul freight carriers face similar dilemmas. Fuel cell trucks are lighter, important for payload capacity. And they refuel more quickly, much like today’s diesel trucks. But if most of the industry settles on battery power, then hydrogen fueling infrastructure might not get developed sufficiently, and fuel cell trucks might wind up with very restricted routing opportunities. Battery trucks are heavier and take longer to charge, but these disadvantages might soon be eliminated by promising new developments.
Manufacturer’s project that battery electric big rigs will cost about three times as much as diesel trucks, and fuel cell trucks about four times as much. Long term operating costs will be much lower, but the payback period will be long and freight companies are understandably on the fence. Government will need to get involved in the transition to electric long haul trucking.
Urban buses are a slam dunk.
Unlike long haul trucking, we should see a rapid conversion to electric buses in urban areas. Significantly lower fuel and maintenance costs, plus much lower noise and air pollution levels make a compelling argument for city transit systems. Metropolitan bus service seems custom made for electric power — short routes with lots of stops. China has made a huge push in electric bus development. In 2019, 99% of the E buses in the world were built in mainland China. In the “same old story” department, other countries are now rushing to catch up.
School buses are another no brainer.
In addition to much lower operating costs, most school buses have a predictable two-times-a-day schedule which may open up opportunities for school districts to earn money by selling peak power back to electric utilities through two way smart chargers. You’ll probably find yourself waiting behind an electric school bus soon!
Read about the state of the conversion of America’s school bus fleet: World Resources Institute
Thanks for reading,
Doug Hylan, Brooklin, Maine
“Just four years ago, I was very doubtful that batteries would haul freight. Now we have conducted a Run on Less with only battery-electric trucks proving how wrong I was.” Mike Roeth, executive director North American Council on Freight Efficiency