Five questions answered about electric trucks

As part of efforts to reduce air pollution and cut greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, California is pursuing aggressive policies to promote clean trucks. The state has required that by 2035, all new cars and other light vehicles sold in the state must no emission. Its strong Air Resource Board passed rules requiring most trucks to be zero-emissions by 2035 and is now proposing that all trucks be sold by 2040 must not emit. The conversation asked a group of transportation experts from the University of California, Davis, what was involved in such a rapid transition.

1. Why is California targeting medium and heavy duty trucks?

In spite of diesel engine Valuable for moving heavy objects, they are also major polluters. Diesel trucks occupy a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions and about half of normal air pollution from traffic in US cities.

Pollutants in diesel engine exhaust include nitrogen oxides, fine particles and many carcinogenic compounds. For many disadvantaged communities located near highways and industrial centers, their residents are particularly affected by diesel truck pollution. Two regions in California — Central Valley and Los Angeles-Long Beach—There is some of the dirtiest air in the United States, so the state has been particularly focused on cutting diesel use.

2. Zero Emission Trucks Ready to Go?

To a degree, yes. Some new models, mostly battery powered but some models hydrogen fuel cellavailable in the market and more are being announced almost daily.

However, production numbers are still small and there are many variations of truck models needed for very diverse applications, from domestic mail delivery, snow plows to cross-country freight. Many of these needs cannot be met with zero emissions truck.

Again fence are the new electric truck models available higher purchase price compared to equivalent diesel trucks. However, as the zero-emission truck market grows, economies of scale will significantly reduce these costs. We’ve seen this happen to Zero-emission cars and light trucks.

Total cost of ownership for zero-emission trucks, including purchase price, Fuel costs and maintenance, is competed in several applications with conventional diesel-powered trucks. An example is the truck used to local delivery from companies like Amazon, UPS, and FedEx. This stage is also known as last mile delivery — getting the product to the buyer’s door.

These trucks are usually driven less often 150 miles per day, so they don’t need large battery packs. Lower energy costs and reduced maintenance needs often offset their higher purchase costs, so owners save money on them over time.

Our studies indicate that by 2025 and especially by 2030, many applications for battery trucks, and perhaps hydrogen fuel cell trucks, will be available. competitive or even lower total cost of ownership compared to equivalent diesel trucks. That’s especially true because of California’s subsidies and encouragesuch as The project promotes hybrid and zero-emission trucks and buses, which helps reduce the cost of new electric trucks and buses. And the state of Low carbon fuel standards significantly reduce the cost of low-carbon fuel and electricity for fleets of trucks and buses.

Markets in California have responded to these policy signals and are evolving rapidly. Over the past year, sales of last-mile electric delivery vans have surged, and companies have increased their commitment to buying these vehicles.

More than 150 zero-emission truck models have been marketed and qualified for state incentive funding. They include the word big pickup truck arrive heavy tractor unit for tractor-trailer complex.

3. Is there enough toll infrastructure to support all these vehicles?

Providing near-zero carbon electricity for EVs and hydrogen for fuel cells, and expanding hydrogen charging and refueling infrastructure, is just as important as getting zero-emission trucks on the road.

Fleet owners will need to install a charger that can charge their battery-powered trucks overnight or sometimes during the day. These stations can require so much power that utility companies will need to install additional hardware to bring electricity from the grid to the stations to meet potential high demand at certain times.

Fuel cell trucks will require the installation of hydrogen stations at fleet depots or public locations. This will allow for quick refueling without a high instantaneous demand on the system. But producing hydrogen would require electricity, which would put an extra burden on the power system.

There are currently very few public or private hydrogen or charging stations for truck fleets in California. But the California Public Utilities Commission has allowed utilities to charge their customers to install a substantial amount stations across the state. And the US Department of Energy recently allocated $8 billion to build hydrogen center—Clean hydrogen production, processing, storage and delivery networks — nationwide.

Despite these efforts, the deployment of charging and hydrogen infrastructure will likely slow the transition to zero-emission trucks, especially long-haul trucks.

4. Who will be affected by the diesel truck ban?

The California regulations will affect both truck manufacturers and truck users. State’s Advanced Clean Truck Rulespassed in 2020, requires the sale to increase the percentage of zero-emission trucks starting in 2024. By 2035, 40% to 75% of all trucks, depending on truck type, right Emissions.

A new proposal is expected to be adopted in early 2023, Advanced Clean Team Ruleswill require fleets of more than 50 trucks to purchase an increasing number of zero-emission trucks over time, with all truck purchases required to be zero-emissions by 2040.

These two policies will work together. The Enhanced Clean Truck Rule ensures that zero-emission truck fleets will be available to fleets, and the Enhanced Clean Truck fleet rule will give truck manufacturers confidence that zero-emission trucks The waste they produce will find buyers.

These two rules are the most ambitious in the world in accelerating the transition to zero-emission trucks.

The California Advanced Clean Trucks Regulation is the first in the world to require the sale of zero-emissions heavy trucks. Get details in this NEW policy update: https://t.co/ECwFtXtyZl pic.twitter.com/nAvx6a5de4

– ICCT (@TheICCT) July 20, 2020

5. Are other states competing with California?

Yes, in many other states there is a strong interest in the electrification of trucking. Oregon, Washington, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts have passed the Advanced Clean Truck ruleand others are in the process of doing the same. 17 states and the District of Columbia have agree to work together driving the self-sustaining market for medium and heavy vehicles.

We expect that the transition to zero-emission truck fleets will require strong policy support at least through the 2030s and possibly beyond. The transition will become self-sufficient in most cases as production scales up and fleets adapt to their operations, resulting in lower costs. This could happen soon, especially with midsize trucks.

Converting large long-haul trucks will be especially difficult as they require a large amount of energy stored on board and benefit from quick refueling. Fuel cell systems with hydrogen may make the most sense for many of these vehicles; fleets will ultimately decide which technology is best for them.

The transition to zero-emission trucks will be difficult for many fleets and businesses, and will require government support in the early years of the transition. Overall, however, we believe the outlook is bright for zero-emission trucking, with huge climate and clean-air benefits, and ultimately cost savings for owners. truck.

This article was republished from Conversation under Creative Commons license. Read original article.