The Future of Transportation

The future of transportation is electric! Well, now you may say, tell us something we don’t know! And just that, I will, if you read this till the end!

EVs - A Bit of The Past and Present!

Transportation needs vehicles and all vehicles, in general, are becoming electric now. The electrification trend that started with cars and two-wheelers has now reached boats and campers in 2022. Arguably, the most important factors accelerating the sales and popularity of EVs across the globe include reducing the dependence on fossil fuels and harmful emissions from ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicles. Companies such as General Motors and Ford are known to have started producing electric cars in response to the sudden rise in consumer inclination toward alternative fuel-powered cars in the 1990s. According to an article published by the New York Times on January 05, 1996, GM announced its plans to sell the first mass-market electric car in the Western states of the U.S. by July 1996. Industry analysts at the time speculated huge losses for the company, given the $350 million development cost for these cars! Fast forward to 25 years later…As reported by the International Energy Agency (IEA), in 2021, new electric car sales crossed 6.6 million units, capturing a share of close to nine percent in the global car market.

Are We Really Reducing Emissions?

All this information is also pretty generic and might not be so new for most of you! What is coming next will however be. Let us remember why we started manufacturing EVs in the first place. To reduce emissions. And after 25 long years since the first commercial electric car came to market, have we done that? The European Economic Area (EEA) report published in 2017 signals that we haven’t been quite successful. The preliminary findings of the research suggest that average carbon emissions from passenger cars on European roads increased by 0.4 percent in 2017. The registrations of new battery electric vehicles in the EU increased by 51% in 2017 as compared to 2016. Such contradictory observations highlight the importance of electrifying medium- and heavy-duty vehicles significantly.

IEA says that only 5% of all four-wheeled vehicles on road are medium- and heavy-duty. However, these vehicles produce a whopping 30% of carbon emissions, even in 2020!  The key barriers to faster electrification and commercial adoption of HDVs such as freight trucks and buses still remain limited range and battery capacity. The delayed response of governments and regulatory authorities in setting up stricter emission standards for heavy and medium-duty EVs might also be the reason for their limited adoption across the globe. It was only in 2020 that the State of California first proposed a requirement for ZEV heavy-duty trucks in the U.S. The Advanced Clean Truck Regulation is due to be implemented in 2024. While the policy support for implementing and adopting electric buses is strong, electric trucks still lag behind.

The Electric Truck Revolution!

With that being said, not all is lost for electric trucks. Market giants such as Volvo Trucks and Daimler AG are at the forefront of developing improved batteries for commercial vehicles, especially, long haul trucks. For instance in May 2022, Volvo Trucks, with a mission to make 50% of its total truck sales electric by 2030, opened its first battery-assembly plant in Ghent, Belgium. The 90 kWh battery packs assembled at the plant are designed with a focus on Volvo’s six electric truck models including the more popular, Volvo FM, FH, and FMX trucks. What makes these battery packs even more unique is their ability to be remanufactured, refurbished, and reused! Exactly a year ago, in May 2021, Daimler Truck AG partnered with CATL, a Chinese battery manufacturer to jointly develop lithium-ion battery cell modules for its heavy-duty trucks including the Freightliner eCascadia, eM2, and, Mercedes-Benz eActros. The company claims that the eActros Long Haul will have a range of over 500 km on a single charge! With the rapid innovations in battery technologies and increasing range, electric trucks are set to be a promising future for the long-haul freight transportation and logistics industry.  

Here's an excellent article by Mr. Amit Bhatt, Managing Director, ICCT India that focuses on the adoption of electric trucks in India.