Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - February 2024 - 22

Commercial-truck EV fleets slow to GROW
" Start with discrete projects -
so you can learn. "
Although fleets have invested in electric Class 8 tractors such as the Freightliner
eCascadia, some say installing charging infrastructure appropriate to the trucks'
needs has been difficult.
Andrew Okuyiga,
VP of public affairs, UPS.
" We're serious about this and we're looking at a lot of options, "
Marko asserted. " A heavy emphasis is going to be on EVs. " Calling
charging infrastructure the primary challenge " for any fleet starting to
consider EVs, " he cautioned that the current state of the charging ecosystem
requires long-term planning - and patience. " Developing infrastructure
can take anything from six months to 48 months, " he said.
And for fleets preparing for Class 8 EV tractors, obtaining permits and
installing suitable high-power grid interconnections can take from two
to four years - a timeline supported by UPS' Okuyiga's anecdote of his
company's ongoing wait for permitting for megawatt-level charging.
The 2024 Government/Industry session's moderator, Mike Laughlin,
technology manager in the U.S. Dept. of Energy's (DOE) Vehicle
Technologies Office technology integration program, mentioned one
high-level driver for fleet-vehicle electrification is the DOE's National
Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization. Released in January 2023
as a joint effort of the U.S. departments of Energy, Transportation and
Housing and Urban Development, along with the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), the interagency Blueprint describes a framework
of strategies and actions to remove all emissions from the transportation
sector by 2050.
Laughlin noted that the trucking sector accounts for a substantial
portion of the country's total transportation-related emissions: medium-
and heavy-duty vehicles represent 5% of all vehicles on the
road, but are responsible for 21% of transportation emissions, the
Blueprint said. Within the medium-/heavy-duty segments, about 10%
of heavy trucks with high utilization are responsible for approximately
50% of the sector's total emissions.
The National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization calls for a
mix of EV, hydrogen and sustainable liquid fuels to meet the goal of
having 30% of new truck sales be zero-emissions by 2030. And federal
fleet procurement under the program is targeted to be zero-emissions
by as soon as 2035 - so the emphasis on the electrification pathway
for many fleets and the OEM truck and chassis manufacturers is clear.
22 February 2024
Small eQuad 4-wheeler EV is used by UPS for deliveries in
tight quarters.
Pain points and solutions
US Foods' Marko said the slow pace of installing EV
recharging at its facilities led the company to try portable
DC fast chargers, which " have been very successful
for us. " The portable chargers " got EV trucks into
service more quickly " and in some cases saved US
Foods nine months while waiting for completion of
complete permanent-service installations. Marko said
the portable units should be considered by any fleet
seeking experience with EVs without the commitment
to permanent infrastructure investment - or for operations
anxious to get EVs on the road without the time
typically required for charging-equipment installation.
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: FREIGHTLINER; SAE/BILL VISNIC; UPS
Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - February 2024

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