SAN DIEGO — Cooperation among stakeholders will be needed to drive the trucking industry’s adoption of battery electric cars and hydrogen fuel mobile electric cars, mavens said.
“Our world is becoming as we embark on a monumental shift toward new technologies,” said Rakesh Aneja, vice president of eMobility at Daimler Truck North America, at a panel discussion Oct. 23 at the U. S. Trucking Association’s Management Conference and Exposition. The U. S. is the beginning of a complete paradigm shift for our nation, our world, and our industry. One that includes a transition to full decarbonization, advanced sustainability and, of course, zero-emission trucks. “
He noted that the substitution focuses on moving from a 125-year history of a “single energy source” to one of emerging options.
“Lately, electric trucks are being delivered to consumers and hydrogen trucks will be kept soon after. The demand is maximum and the availability of the new fuel, whether electric force or hydrogen, is an essential detail to allow a large-scale increase. .
It’s also critical for applications that make sense for early adoption and for which charging infrastructure can be built seamlessly. He cited his company’s battery-electric Freightliner eCascadia as an example of a truck suitable for a safe task.
“This generation of trucks is incredibly suitable for hauling, pickup and delivery, regional and warehouse-to-warehouse transportation programs that are most productive through warehouse refilling,” said Aneja. “My company is incredibly positive about this opportunity and our engineers are working hard to make this vision a reality. However, the fact is that it will take some time for the generation to meet the needs of all our programs.
Roeth talks about the motivations for electric vehicle adoption. (Anneliese Mahoney/Transportation Topics)
He added that production volume and scale also want to increase to reduce charges, and claimed zero-emission trucks are not yet at a point where ownership charging makes sense for all customers.
That said, regulation and visitor tension are also driving wider adoption, said Michael Roeth, director of the North American Council for Transportation Efficiency.
“There is no doubt that regulations lead to 0 emissions,” he said. “Some prevent there and say that’s what motivates him. We don’t. We see two other vital elements in this. Calls for companies to be more sustainable in our freight forwarding are here. I hear all the time from fleet managers meeting with fleet distributors [about] how to respond to carriers at this very point.
Roeth noted that there is also public tension over; Environmental, social and governance projects play a role when their consumers expand sustainability plans.
Among those many factors, corporations are also weighing the implications of the overall charge for zero-emission vehicles.
“Everything that comes out of someone who says they did a total cost of ownership calculation for zero-emission trucks: my team is Array,” Roeth said. “We’re looking for it, we’re looking to understand what they’re saying, and it’s going from ‘It’s a piece of cake, they’re less expensive to operate than diesel’ to ‘They’ll never be less expensive to operate than diesel. ‘”
For its part, NACFE conducted a study of thirteen electric trucks ranging from Class 3 to Class 8 and found that the benefits count on the application. That said, the diversity of electric trucks is improving, affecting usage calculations.
Pilot’s Zobel talks about her company’s fuel choice efforts. (Anneliese Mahoney/Transportation Topics)
“The next generation of trucks, the batteries are coming,” Roeth said. “We’re going to optimize duty cycles, so the amount of regenerative braking you do [and] all sorts of other things that can help increase that range, adding things we all know about aerodynamics, better tires, idle reduction. “
Pilot Co. has invested to make its chain of centers favorable to select fuels. It recently announced an initiative to build a hydrogen and compressed herb fuel supply platform.
“On the infrastructure side, a little money is being pumped into the area right now,” said William Zobel, Pilot’s director of select fuels. “No doubt everyone has heard of the federal government’s Hydrogen Hub program. Let him look for it. Last year, in December, the government injected $9 billion into hydrogen production in a bid to reduce the cost of hydrogen to the consumer.
Pilot Co. se ranked 15th on Transport Topics’ list of the hundred most sensible personal carriers in North America.
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