{"id":2273,"date":"2020-03-21T01:53:29","date_gmt":"2020-03-21T01:53:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quicktransportsolutions.com\/blog\/?p=2273"},"modified":"2020-03-21T01:53:30","modified_gmt":"2020-03-21T01:53:30","slug":"how-will-electric-trucks-be-powered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quicktransportsolutions.com\/blog\/how-will-electric-trucks-be-powered\/","title":{"rendered":"How Will Electric Trucks be Powered?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You may think a volt is just a volt<\/a>, especially when it comes to a hydrogen fuel cell or lithium-ion battery. And while that is certainly true from a physics standpoint, when it comes to how an electric drive motor powers an electric truck, it doesn\u2019t care where that volt comes from. Yet, the stakes for electric trucks are much higher than a simple matter of where the volts come from. And that is where the debate rages. On one side you have those in favor of battery-electric power and on the other those in favor of fuel cells. Will a clear winner emerge?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why Electric Trucks?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot of talk has been around Tesla and other company\u2019s\nattempts to build an electric Class 8 semi. While the tesla glitterati out\nthere would love to see the company take on more and smash their competition, there\nare some hard realities to consider. Some big players in trucking simply are\nnot convinced that there is a value proposition for electric big rigs, with\nDaimler being the biggest naysayer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, the biggest difference here is that many of the large\ntruck OEMs have been trying to adapt legacy diesel models to become electric\nvehicles. Tesla, Nikola, and others getting in on the trucking game are\nbuilding their platforms around electrification, rather than adapting them to\nit. Because of this, these companies will be able to better optimize their\ncosts in the short term. A lot of extra cost would have to be eliminated for\nlegacy OEMs to see the same benefit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some actively wonder whether there is any reason to be confident\nthat Tesla will succeed in the trucking marketplace. Trucking companies are not\nthe types of companies who will spend a premium on a semi just to burnish their\ngreen credentials. The only shade of green that matters to them is the green of\nthe dollar bill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another major question lies in the engineering. Traditional\nOEMs have many, many decades under their belt learning how to build robust,\nfuel-efficient commercial motor vehicles. New companies to the game may be\nputting miles on through testing, but their platforms are not yet proven. Is a\nflashy and efficient truck enough to make a difference to hardened motor\ncarriers used to a certain type of vehicle?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The obvious reason to migrate to electric trucks is for\ngreater fuel efficiency. Yet, should that be the only reason? And furthermore,\nwhat is the best method of electrification? Who will eventually win out on the\nbattery versus fuel cell war?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Benefits of Hydrogen Fuel Cells<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, let\u2019s talk about the different forms of electrification\nthat will find their way onto a big rig. The first is hydrogen. While hydrogen\npower systems are not as ubiquitous as fuel cell power systems, there are three\ndifferent variants in development. Nikola, Toyota, and a Canadian consortium\nare all working on hydrogen-based electric truck systems. Even the skeptical\nDaimler is participating in the Canadian program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hydrogen does have two clear advantages over\nbattery-electric vehicles, with the first being a longer range. You can drive a\nhydrogen-powered vehicle longer distances without having to make any payload\nsacrifices. Nikola claims that its purpose-built hydrogen truck will have a 500-800-mile\nrange on just 80 kg of hydrogen. The chassis it rides in should be no larger\nthan a standard diesel variant, it will just be set up differently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Toyota, in partnership with Kenworth, unveiled their prototype hydrogen trucks at this year\u2019s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and they claim their vehicle will have around 350 miles worth of range, but that the range can be extended depending on how much hydrogen storage capacity they add to the vehicle. Toyota claims that a typical regional haul of around 350 miles should use approximately 120 pounds of hydrogen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Since all these trucks will not have a diesel engine,\ntransmission, or aftertreatment systems, there should be no problem with adding\nsix carbon fiber hydrogen tanks, a fuel cell stack, and a 12-kW drive battery. In\nother words, the weight-neutral ratio for hydrogen fuel cell trucks should be\ncomparable to the ratio of standard diesel variants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The heaviest part of a hydrogen fuel cell drive system are\nthe storage tanks. When full, these tanks can run in excess of 4,000 pounds.\nStill, that is far less than the weight you would need for lithium-ion\nbatteries to take you the same distance. In that case you would be looking at\nnearly 16,000 pounds of batteries. Another advantage to hydrogen fuel cells is\nthe lack of charging time. With battery-powered trucks, you may have to wait\nseveral hours, whereas filling up your hydrogen tanks should take around 15\nminutes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuel cells are a lot like diesel engines in that they\noperate at their highest level of efficiency when they are running at a steady\nrate. While the hydrogen flow can be controlled, the battery provides the\n\u201cthrottle\u201d modulation as power is needed for hills or headwinds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Advantages of Battery Power<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Battery-powered trucks, on the other hand, benefit greatly\nfrom stop-and-go operations. For vehicles operating in urban environments,\nregenerative breaking offers a tangible benefit. Any opportunity to add charge\nto the batteries is one that should be taken. In fact, according to some\nstudies, regenerative breaking can add up to 50% additional power to the\nvehicle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the time, fleets running electric vehicles only\noperate within 100 \u2013 150 miles per day. So, battery specs that cover a 230-mile\nrange would be just fine for customers who aren\u2019t in the long-haul business.\nFreightliner\u2019s hybrid eCascadia Class 8 tractors come installed with a 550-kWh\nbattery pack offering 250 miles of range. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, the elephant in the trucking OEM room is Tesla, who\noffers a 500-mile range semi. As a result, big truck OEMs are taking note.\nTrucking companies serious about getting in on the electric game need to build\nvehicles that provide a real return on investment for their customers. The only\nway to prevent defectors back to diesel is to offer solid, quality products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trucking OEM Peterbilt has identified three specific markets\nit believes are ripe for truck electrification. As a result, they are moving\nforward with medium-duty rigs that run on battery-electric power. Yet, their\nefforts are not without roadblocks. Since it can take up to eight hours to\nfully charge a battery pack, trucking companies need to be strategic about how\nand when they charge their trucks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as we reported on before, electric truck charging\ninfrastructure is still in its infancy. We are in the early days of an electric\ngrid that can even handle the pressure. While truck makers and trucking\ncompanies are working with utility companies to change this paradigm, it will\nrequire substantial commitment from all players. Certainly, battery-powered\ntrucks offered on a mass scale are still a way away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is All New Ground<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hydrogen fuel cell stacks are new to trucking. Nikola\nstarted with their own clean-sheet proprietary design and it certainly took a\nlong time to even get to a working prototype. Many OEMs are currently\nstruggling with the fundamental question of whether they should also start with\na clean-sheet design or adapt their current models. Indeed, many are adapting\ncurrent models, as that is the path of least resistance. Whether this is the\nbest method remains to be seen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another area of unknowns is how companies will pay for all\nthis. While many of the EV pricing numbers that have come out recently are\ncertainly eye-popping, battery prices have been falling. Certainly, when all\nthe dust settles electric big rigs will not be as expensive as they once were\nor even are today. And as battery production increases, prices are bound to\nfall even more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the industry even makes it to 30,000 electric trucks per\nyear in production, the demand in raw materials and production could cause\nprice increases. Still, as the industry scales, we are likely to see a\ncontinuation of small-scale price drops. Most analysts expect the market for\n100- to 300-mile range trucks to come in around $150,000 to $200,000 per\nvehicle with no subsidies, which is not that far off from where we are today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, as governments try to spur adoption of these technologies, subsidies will help trucking companies get in on the game. California is one such example. And as chassis integration evolves, electric trucks will become lighter and even more fuel efficient. Wheel-end motors could eventually completely replace drive shafts and differential axles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The fact is, the business model for electric trucks becomes\nclearer by the day. And as trucking companies try to squeeze more and more out\nfuel efficiency and business operation efficiency, there will come a time when\nelectric trucks simply make sense, no matter how they are powered. And\nespecially when they are competitively prices. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You may think a volt is just a volt, especially when it comes to a hydrogen fuel cell or lithium-ion battery. And while that is certainly true from a physics standpoint, when it comes to how an electric drive motor powers an electric truck, it doesn\u2019t care where that volt comes from. Yet, the stakes … Read moreHow Will Electric Trucks be Powered?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trucking"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Will Electric Trucks be Powered? - Quick Transport Solutions Trucking Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/quicktransportsolutions.com\/blog\/how-will-electric-trucks-be-powered\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Will Electric Trucks be Powered? - Quick Transport Solutions Trucking Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You may think a volt is just a volt, especially when it comes to a hydrogen fuel cell or lithium-ion battery. 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