TRUCKS
In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from freight, carrier trucks will be converted to electric-battery vehicles. This will entail incentivizing electric vehicle sales, scaling up charging infrastructure, supplementing the transition to electric vehicles with biofuels such as ethanol, and installing catenary lines on major highways.
Image By: Rich Legg
Proposal Overview
What is the problem with trucking today?
Globally, trucking contributes to 62% of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from freight transportation[1]Greene, Suzanne. “Freight Transportation.” MIT Climate Portal. Accessed November 20, 2021. climate.mit.edu/explainers/freight-transportation.. In the U.S. alone, transportation contributes to 29% of the nation’s emissions (shown in Figure 1), and of that, 24% are from the trucking industry (shown in Figure 2) [2]US EPA, OAR. “Fast Facts on Transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions.” Overviews and Factsheets, August 25, 2015. www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/fast-facts-transportation-greenhouse-gas-emissions.. Currently, the majority of freight trucks are run on diesel fuel, which produces 22 pounds, or approximately 10 kilograms, of CO2 per gallon burned [3]U.S. Energy Information Administration. “Frequently Asked Questions How Much Carbon Dioxide Is Produced by Burning Gasoline and Diesel Fuel?,” May 21, 2014. … Continue reading. For a typical truck, this means that a watermelon’s weight in CO2 is being emitted for every gallon of fuel burned, or 6.5 miles travelled. The main source of GHG emissions from trucks is the combustion of fuels, which results in exhaust fumes from the tailpipe.
The Solution
To combat GHG emissions from trucks, alternative energy sources, including biofuels, hydrogen, and battery-electric, were compared with standard diesel. These sources were assessed based on their ability to not only produce lower levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (measured in CO2-equivalents), but also to be feasibly implemented in the near future (defined by approximately 2030–see timeline below for more detail). Feasibility was measured quantitatively via an economic comparison of infrastructure costs, as well as qualitatively by comparing policies required and types of entities needed to cooperate in order to implement these technologies. This analysis yielded battery-powered electric vehicles as the best solution.
The scope of the problem and solution was defined as trucks operating as freight carriers in the United States. Freight carriers are independent or commercial entities responsible for the transport of cargo. [6]“What Is a Freight Carrier? Logistics Terms and Definitions | Saloodo!” Accessed November 20, 2021. www.saloodo.com/logistics-dictionary/freight-carrier/. This proposal uses heavy-duty trucks as a baseline for freight.
Solution Plan
Our solution consists of the following parts:
- Incentivize electric truck sales so that most-to-all of truck sales are electric by 2030.
- Encourage the use of biofuels as a diesel replacement to help supplement and support the transition to electric vehicles.
- Incentivize the installation of electric charging stations.
- Install catenary lines on major highways.
Timeline of Goals
Figure 3 highlights the proposed timeline for converting the United States’ heavy duty freight fleet to electric-battery. This includes recommended dates for policies to take effect, and their anticipated results from 2021 to 2044. A broader timeline for the implementation of these policies can be found here.
Why Electric Trucks
Battery-Electric Vehicles perform better than diesel trucks in almost all aspects, including cost and CO2 emissions.
LCFS = Low Carbon Fuel Standard
Reduced Emissions
An analysis by the California Energy Policy Simulator (EPS) found that converting 60% of the state’s freight trucks to electric by 2035 would reduce the state’s CO2 emissions by 17.6 million metric tons [8]Busch, Chris, James Fine, and Amanda Myers. “Clean Trucks, Big Bucks,” June 2020. energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Clean-Trucks-Big-Bucks_June_17_2020.pdf..
Range Efficiency
Truckers typically have 14 hour workdays [9]Eyerly, Dane. “How Far Do Truckers Drive In A Day? (Miles and Hours).” Big Rig Pros (blog). Accessed November 20, 2021. bigrigpros.com/how-far-do-truckers-drive-in-a-day-miles-and-hours/.. 11 of those are spent driving, equating to about 600 miles a day, and the remaining 3 are spent in breaks [10]Eyerly, Dane. “How Far Do Truckers Drive In A Day? (Miles and Hours).” Big Rig Pros (blog). Accessed November 20, 2021. bigrigpros.com/how-far-do-truckers-drive-in-a-day-miles-and-hours/.. Daimler’s eCascadia electric truck provides 250 miles on a full charge, and can charge to 200 miles in 90 minutes [11]Daimler. “Electrified on the Highway.” Daimler. Accessed November 20, 2021. www.daimler.com/sustainability/climate/ecascadia.html.. Thus, a trucker can drive 600 miles in a day by recharging their trucks during their breaks without increasing their workdays.
Cost Feasibility
The EPS also analyzed the costs and benefits of converting to a 60% electric fleet in California by 2040 and found that the switch could save up to $12.4 billion as costs of batteries and electricity continue to fall [12]Busch, Chris, James Fine, and Amanda Myers. “Clean Trucks, Big Bucks,” June 2020. energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Clean-Trucks-Big-Bucks_June_17_2020.pdf.. (see Figure 4 for more information).
Continuous Technological Improvements
Researchers such as those at MIT are working on innovating battery technology to reduce their weight and volume while maintaining high energy densities. Such a development would mean an increase in range and load capacity for freight trucks [13]Stauffer, Nancy. “Designing Better Batteries for Electric Vehicles.” MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology, August 16, 2021. … Continue reading. Learn more
Steps For Implementation
Infrastructure
Charging Stations
More charging stations will need to be built throughout the nation, especially in popular truck stops to ensure that the trucks can reach their destinations
Catenary
Parts of truck routes will have a catenary system integrated to charge trucks while they drive to increase range. Catenary systems provide trucks power from overhead power lines, which trucks connect to via an arm at the top [14]Kane. “Germany: A5 Autobahn Gets Catenary Overhead Lines For XEV Trucks,” August 22, 2020. insideevs.com/news/440388/germany-a5-autobahn-catenary-overhead-lines-trucks/..
Policy and Economics
Rebates
Many states already have rebates that cover the initial cost of buying zero-emission trucks, and our proposal would include other states implementing similar incentives [15]Borrás, Jo. “Volvo Electric Semi Trucks Now Eligible for $120,000 Rebates CleanTechnica,” March 31, 2021. cleantechnica.com/2021/03/31/volvo-electric-semi-trucks-now-eligible-for-120000-rebates/..
Diesel Tax and Ethanol Subsidy
As electric vehicles and their amenities become more accessible, diesel taxes can help push the transition to electric vehicles.
Supporting Truckers
Independent contractors are truckers that purchase and maintain their own vehicle, which means they carry the financial burden of owning an electric truck[16]“Independent Contractor Defined | Internal Revenue Service,” October 14, 2021. www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/independent-contractor-defined.. These independent contractors already experience lower wages and slimmer profit margins, which hinders their ability to invest capital in zero-emission technology, reducing the efficacy of climate policies. However, there are various policies that can be implemented to improve the conditions of truck workers while improving the efficacy of climate policies.
Energy and Materials
Grid Expansion + Clean Energy
An important step in facilitating the use of electric trucks is ensuring that the energy grid has enough capacity to accommodate additional demand by trucks. Doing so would require connecting and expanding the three US grids.
Additionally, in order for electric vehicles to significantly reduce CO2 emissions, the electricity powering them needs to be generated from renewable sources.
Battery Concerns
While sourcing energy for electric cars can be made clean with current resources and practices, the same doesn’t hold for battery production. Lithium and cobalt mining is necessary for the production of electric car batteries, but these processes pose various environmental concerns and ethical dilemmas.
Biofuels in the Short Term
Transitioning to an electric fleet will take time. In order to reduce emissions, biofuels can be used as a diesel substitute during the fleet conversion period.
Figure 5: Sources of Biofuel [17]“Types_and_generation_of_biofuels.Png (1107×668).” Accessed November 20, 2021. upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Types_and_generation_of_biofuels.png.
Alternate Fuel Sources
Hydrogen Fuel Cells
Trucks can also be run on hydrogen fuel cells, which convert hydrogen’s chemical energy into electricity [19]“Hydrogen Fuel Cell.” Accessed November 20, 2021. www.internationaltrucks.com/alternate-fuel/hydrogen-fuel-cell.. While water is the only by-product from fuel cells, obtaining hydrogen isn’t always a clean process [20]“Hydrogen Fuel Cell.” Accessed November 20, 2021. www.internationaltrucks.com/alternate-fuel/hydrogen-fuel-cell.. However, in certain instances, using hydrogen for fuel is the cleanest solution, which can be seen in the ships group’s solution.
Biofuels and Biodiesel
Corn ethanol as a biofuel may be a short-term solution for reducing CO2 emissions as the trucking industry transitions to electric vehicles. However, it is not an optimal solution for the long-run as the reductions in CO2 from converting diesel to ethanol are minimal when compared to reductions from converting diesel to renewable electric [22]Martin, Jeremy. “Fueling a Clean Transportation Future | Smart Fuel Choices for a Warming World,” February 2016. … Continue reading.
References
