Most trucks on the road today are slow and smelly, causing a majority of the harmful air pollution in urban skies and contributing to our greenhouse gas emission problem. But technology is offering promising solutions to make these trucks zero emission — will they be fueled by battery electric power or hydrogen fuel cells?
Jim Park in Trucking Info lays out the situation with this competition over fuels and technology, and it seems to me that battery power is gaining rapidly. On the hydrogen side, we currently have three main trucking companies: Nikola, Kenworth/Toyota, and a Canadian consortium collaborating on AZETEC (Alberta Zero-Emissions Truck Electrification Collaboration). The battery electric truck side is led right now by Daimler and Tesla.
Hydrogen has two clear advantages over batteries: long-distance range (500-800 miles) with a light payload for the fuel and fuel cell, weighing no more than a typical diesel sleeper tractor. These trucks can also refuel quickly.
But batteries are getting cheaper and more powerful. Electric trucks generally benefit from stop-and-go operations with more opportunities for regenerative braking and high-powered charging. Companies like Daimler are responding to this large part of the market:
“We found that probably 80% of the group we spoke to were not running more than 150 miles per day,” says Andreas Juretzka, head of Daimler’s e-Mobility Group. “That led us to a battery spec of 230-mile range, which covers, among other things, the swings in ambient temperature that can affect battery performance and to alleviate the customers’ range anxiety.”
Tesla has meanwhile announced a 500-mile range truck with zero-to-60 times of less than 5 seconds — sure to be of interest for driving quality alone.
Both types of zero-emission trucks will require a whole new build-out of charging infrastructure though, including fast-charger stations for batteries and hydrogen stations for fuel cells.
This competition over fueling technology is probably good news for consumers and all who live near and drive behind these trucks. But at the same time some clarity on which technologies are suitable for which applications will be needed soon, as policy makers are right now contemplating public investments in the various fueling infrastructure needs. They don’t want to invest in permanent infrastructure for the wrong type of vehicle.
My guess? Battery electrics will dominate for 80% of the trucking market, but hydrogen will still be useful for longer-distance trucking. But either way, the benefits for air quality and our carbon footprint will be immense.
Zero-emission vehicle technologies boil down to two options: battery electric and hydrogen fuel cells. Currently, battery electrics like Tesla’s vehicles and Chevy’s Bolt EV are dominating the field, as battery prices fall and range increases. Yet according as Bloomberg reports, auto industry executives are still apparently in love with hydrogen over batteries:
A KPMG survey last year found most senior automotive executives believe battery-powered cars will ultimately fail, with hydrogen offering the true breakthrough for electric mobility. That’s what Japan is banking on—Toyota Motor Corp. is making a big bet it will triumph over batteries.
Of the almost 1,000 officials polled by the Dutch advisory, some 78 percent said hydrogen cars will prevail because their tanks can be filled in minutes, making recharging times of 25-45 minutes for battery options “seem unreasonable.”
And yet this supposed advantage of faster charging time is eroding away, as super-fast chargers are being developed that could give an EV driver 200 miles of range in just a few minutes. And given that hydrogen stations are few and far between, what benefit is a faster charging time if it takes you 20 minutes to find a station?
What this survey tells me is that 78 percent of auto executives are not following battery technology very closely. Which I suppose presents opportunities for companies like Tesla to continue to do well in the market, if the rest of the industry doesn’t catch up soon.
