Battery-powered trucks would cost far more than diesel equivalent, have range of only 150-330 miles, require several charges for a long-distance delivery
Andrew Boyle, first vice-chair of the American Trucking Associations, testified before a US Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on the future of clean vehicles. While acknowledging that cars and light-duty trucks are appropriate for electrification, transport trucks are unsuitable for the following reasons:
- Today, a diesel truck takes 15 minutes to refuel anywhere in the country, giving it a range of 1,200 miles before refueling again.
- Long-haul battery-electric trucks require up to 10 hours to recharge, for a range of 150-330 miles. So, to go 1,200 miles, a BEV truck needs to charge 4-8 times — assuming there are charge points where needed.
- Thus, far more trucks would be needed to haul the same amount of freight, with each electric truck costing $300,000 more than a diesel equivalent.
- Converting all the Class 8 trucks in the US would require a $1 trillion investment, which would flow to consumers, and for which the US would have to commandeer the global production of lithium for seven years.
- A battery for a heavy-duty truck weighs 8,000 lb., which means that much less payload since the maximum gross weight of the vehicle is fixed.
- Local electric utilities can’t handle the loads required for charging stations.
From Friends of Science.