Despite making up only 5% of the number of vehicles on the road, medium and heavy-duty trucks (MHDTs) are responsible for 30% of the carbon emissions in the transportation industry, and a new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) said research spending is insufficient.
“Investments for decarbonizing heavy-duty trucks are disproportionately low relative to their greenhouse gas emissions. Passenger vehicles face major obstacles in meeting customer’s needs in range and cost, but trucks present an opportunity that could create technological spillover effects impacting the entire transportation sector,” ITIF senior policy analyst Hoyu Chong said, according to a news release issued June 20.
ITIF, a think tank for science and technology policy, argues that federal research, development and demonstration (RD&D) spending on trucks is insufficient, despite improvements in RD&D for passenger vehicles.
According to ITIF, turning attention to MDHTs is essential for achieving net-zero emissions. The report analyzes the barriers that are currently preventing adoption as well as the opportunity for emissions reduction that trucks can offer. Price-performance parity, or having older technology operate as well as or better than newer technology, is the ultimate objective.
Medium-and heavy-duty trucks have seen only modest improvements in fuel efficiency when compared to other vehicles, according to the release. Heavy-duty trucks use diesel in excess of 98% of cases, but synthetic and biodiesel fuels, according to Chong, are simply a Band-Aid. Due to the energy density and weight of the batteries, MHDTs additionally encounter difficulties during electrification.
Other difficulties identified in the research include maintenance expenses, interoperability problems and difficulties with refueling infrastructure, in addition to lowering the cost to be on pace with or below diesel fuel.
The research offers solutions for enhancing the capabilities and performance of heavy-duty trucks, including newly developed low-carbon energy sources and powertrains, the mechanical elements that propel the vehicle, the release reported; however, significant change won't start until MHDTs are properly funded and researched.
Chong said the Department of Energy (DOE) did not begin concentrating on zero-emission trucks until 2021. As a result, the paper suggests that DOE increase its heavy-duty trucking RD&D program funding by $150 million to put a stronger emphasis on battery-electric performance, fuel cell and hydrogen choices and powertrain use cases.
A second suggestion is that DOE and the Department of Transportation create a uniform system for categorizing vehicles that includes measures for assessing emissions and energy consumption efficiency.
