ILMA Compoundings - March 2020 - 23

E

lectric vehicles (EVs) are continuing to gain momentum, with
manufacturers releasing new
vehicles and prototypes and making
bold predictions for the future. People
within the transportation industry
are examining everything from use
cases to charging infrastructure while
monitoring the emerging market of
EVs and preparing for the future.
"We've never tried to redesign the
industry in the short term, and that is
what this is. There are more question
marks than there are exclamation
points at this time," said Jack Legler,
technical director of the American
Trucking Associations' Technology
Maintenance Council (TMC). "You're
talking about a fundamental reshape

of how things are done, and the economics of it are yet to be defined."
A new study from the North
American Council of Freight Efficiency
(NACFE) found that North American
freight movement is becoming more
predictable, with dedicated routes
enabled by e-commerce and other
technologies, offering better duty cycles
for alternative powertrains, said Mike
Roeth, executive director of NACFE.
That predictability combined with
government regulations, an improved
total cost of ownership and a move
toward greater sustainability are
driving EV adoption. "Any one factor
wouldn't drive it," Roeth said. "We
believe that battery-electric trucks will
replace diesel as the baseline, but they
aren't going to be able to do it all, and
it is going to be a long time before it
can really do a lot of it."
California has issued zero-emission
vehicle requirements, which will take
effect in 2024, and Roeth said other
states are likely to follow suit. "We've
seen New York and other places
making proposals using the California model," he said, adding that the
Environmental Protection Agency and
the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration are studying their
clean truck initiative. "I could see
the federal government encouraging
adoption through federal work."
Roeth said technology is advancing.
"Five years ago, the biggest challenge
was the batteries. That has pretty
well been taken care of, and there is
a pathway. Then, it was that we don't
have the trucks. That is moving along.
Now the issue is charging."
Despite lingering concerns, Roeth
said EVs are gaining ground. "You
know it is going to happen when TMC
opens up task forces for standards and
when fire chiefs and law enforcement
start talking about how they can identify vehicles," he said. "There is plenty
of evidence we're starting to ramp."

There will be a progression of EV
adoption, which Roeth sees starting
with shorter hauls, such as drayage
and pickup and delivery, then moving
into longer regional hauls. However,
with sleepers and team driving, there
is no time to charge, which means
technology will need to progress
before those applications work.
"Starting now and through the
next decade or so, battery-electric will
expand. That is going to take enough
time that there will be a messy middle,"
Roeth said. "It will be messy because,
depending on certain regulations
around nitrous oxide and particulate
matter and how diesel prices go, we
think there will be some growth in
natural gas before they go electric."

Growth in the Market

Roger Nielsen, CEO of Daimler
Trucks North America, said Daimler is
planning for a future that could include
exclusively electric trucks and buses. "I
believe the future is electric," Nielsen
said while speaking at the Advanced
Clean Transportation Expo. "The road
to emissions-free driving will be driven
by battery-electric vehicles."
Dawn Fenton, director of sustainability and public affairs for Volvo
Group North America, said transportation is currently undergoing a
paradigm shift. "No longer are we
just bringing new truck technology
to market like we did with a new emission system, but we're looking at the
whole framework or system to make
sure it is a success," she said. "This
project is larger in size and scope than
any we've ever done before."
Fenton said Volvo is creating a whole
new driveline that it will be bringing
into new vehicles and multiple truck
configurations. Fenton noted that by
the end of 2020, Volvo would roll
out straight trucks and tractors with
multiple axle configurations and a
gross vehicle weight (GVW) of 66,000
pounds. "Within 2021, we will have

23
ILMA Compoundings - March 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ILMA Compoundings - March 2020
