Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - April 2024 - 2

EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL
Charging infrastructure coming - at a cost
It's no secret that insufficient battery
charging infrastructure is an impediment
to commercial-vehicle fleets' electrification
efforts. To provide direction
and some certainty for stakeholders
hindered by the lagging buildout of
charging stations, the Biden-Harris administration
released in mid-March what
it calls the first-ever national strategy to
guide the development of charging and
hydrogen fueling infrastructure for
freight trucks from 2024 to 2040.
The strategy targets key freight corridors,
intermodal freight facilities and
high-usage ports in four phases, beginning
with Phase 1 from 2024 to 2027
which establishes priority hubs based on
freight volumes. One of the anticipated
" National EV Freight Corridors " is I-70
running through the heart of Ohio, from
the West Virginia border through
Columbus to the Indiana state line - a
route I travel often and can attest to the
high volume of freight traversing it.
The subsequent three phases will
connect corridors (2027-2030), expand
the network (2030-2035) and complete
the national network (2035-2040) for
" ubiquitous access. " The strategy also
aims to " catalyze public and private investment;
and support utility and regulatory
planning and action at local, state
and regional levels. "
That's encouraging news for fleets eager
to employ BEVs and/or fuel-cell EVs.
However, a report released a week after
the national-strategy announcement provided
a sobering reality check - it won't
be cheap to electrify the U.S. commercial
truck fleet. The Roland Berger report
released by the Clean Freight Coalition
places a $1 trillion price tag on infrastructure
investment alone and exposes what
the CFC calls a " massive investment gap "
as state and federal policymakers mandate
increased adoption rates of BEVs.
The study states that fleets and charge
point operators will need to invest $620
billion into charging infrastructure, which
includes chargers, site infrastructure and
utility service costs. Utilities would need
2 April 2024
to invest $370 billion to upgrade their grid
networks to meet the demands of just
commercial vehicles. To support full electrification
of long-haul trucks, $57 billion
need to be invested into developing a
" sufficiently dense highway-charging network, "
according to the report.
" Electrification means focusing on the
vehicle segments that are easier first; it
means that we have to look at how
fleets operate and potentially adjust; it
means that we need better cooperation
and planning across industries and governments;
and it requires an openness
to alternative technology paths to decarbonizing
the heavy-duty segment, "
said Roland Berger senior partner
Dr. Wilfried Aulbur.
Some of those possible " alternative
technology paths " are detailed in this
issue. New low-carbon fuels - and particularly
hydrogen - are the answer until
batteries and the charging infrastructure
get better, concluded some experts
speaking at SAE International's recent
Government/Industry Meeting (see p. 18).
The U.S. DOE-funded SuperTruck 2
program that began in 2016 has demonstrated
that advances in aerodynamics
and lightwight materials, among other
areas, can have a significant impact on
Class 8 trucks today (see Volvo VNL
story on p. 14). Many tractor-trailer system
efficiency gains are " universally
applicable " to all powertrain choices, a
NACFE report that examined the program
pointed out.
" Future trucks will build from technologies
demonstrated in SuperTruck 2
to achieve increased range and freight
capacity. For example, a 100% scale improvement
in FTE (freight ton efficiency)
easily demonstrated by SuperTruck
2 teams through a range of vehicle technology
improvements could make a
300-mile BEV capable of going 600
miles, " the report said.
That kind of range would go a long way
toward connecting a nationwide charging
network very much in its nascency.
Ryan Gehm, Editor-in-Chief
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
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Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - April 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - April 2024
