The Electrification Coalition released a new report that identifies solutions and actions that industry stakeholders should take to help the United States accelerate the adoption of electric trucks in the freight sector.
The report, Electrifying Freight: Pathways to Accelerating the Transition, outlines the benefits electric trucks have over their diesel counterparts; explains the major barriers impeding their production, sales, and deployment; and establishes the next steps that manufacturers, policymakers, fleet operators, the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain, and other stakeholders should take to facilitate and accelerate freight electrification.
The freight sector presents a unique opportunity to realize the widespread benefits of transportation electrification. Three out of four commercial trucks on the road today—and 98% of Class 8 trucks—are powered by diesel. While medium- and heavy-duty vehicles represented only 6% of vehicles registered in 2018, they were responsible for 26% of petroleum consumption and 23% of US transportation-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
In addition to the outsized emissions impact of on-road freight vehicles, the number of freight trucks and total annual freight mileage are projected to increase significantly over the next thirty years as e-commerce booms and the US population continues to grow rapidly.
