How to decarbonize heavy-duty transport and make it affordable

The race to decarbonize transportation is on, attested to by a global wave of commitments to electrify government and corporate fleets.

However, heavy-duty trucking presents a special challenge. While it constitutes only 1% of total fleet vehicles, it is responsible for a disproportionate 25% share of global road emissions.

Now is the time to eradicate that 25%, by joining together as vehicle manufacturers, infrastructure providers and governments to make heavy-duty electric trucking affordable, easy, and sustainable. Technology has made great strides, but barriers remain.

Addressing the real factors behind electric vehicle emissions

Heated debates have surrounded the sustainability of electric vehicles. The evidence is in, and it boils down to three emissions factors: car production; fuel transfer vs battery production (well-to-tank); driving emissions. In the chart below, it is evident that battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are more sustainable than conventional cars overall – ICEs (internal combustion engines – and continue to become more sustainable.

It’s also clear that the greatest factor in BEV emissions is not the batteries, but rather the electricity used to charge them. So, our race to decarbonize transportation depends on our success in decarbonizing the electrical grid.

Of course, the cleanest kilowatt is the one never produced. The numbers from Transport and Environment show that electric trucks are already more energy-efficient than diesel trucks. The chart below also shows that if the power grid included only renewable electricity, electric trucks would operate with zero emissions, while using less than half the energy of diesel trucks.

Making electric trucks affordable

Despite the growing sustainability advantage, the initial capital expenditure to purchase electric trucks and perceived cost of operation have been deterrents to logistics companies operating on slim margins.

Since fuel is an enormous cost factor for long-haul trucks covering 160,000 km annually, energy efficiency plays a major role in reducing operational costs. And while BEV batteries are already 85% cheaper than 10 years ago, by 2030 battery costs will drop another 50%. At that point, according to the CEO Alliance’s HDT Truck Charging Final Report, published in April 2021, native design electric trucks will reach an economic tipping point, becoming 12% cheaper to purchase and operate than diesel trucks.

Providing range security

Range anxiety is another common deterrent to electrifying fleets, even though both the vehicles and charging stations are capable of delivering long range driving security.

In fact, by 2025, increased battery density will allow a 40-tonne truck to drive 400 km on a single charge. Of course, that assumes the status quo – a battery that fits into a conventional truck head. Most analysts expect BEV-native truck heads with bigger batteries to appear in the next five years, making the average long-haul trip of around 800 km possible on a single charge.

Charging technology is also much faster. It once took 2.5 hours to charge a heavy-duty electric truck. With fast chargers, charging is done over a standard compulsory break (45 minutes for every 4.5 hours of driving). By the end of the year, new megawatt charging stations will make it possible to charge even faster, providing greater capacity for charging hubs.

Digitalization and web-enabled connectivity also make charging stations more sustainable and reliable than before, allowing operators to control stations remotely, optimize energy usage and conduct routine maintenance to keep them up and running 24/7.

Universal standards