Heavy duty trucks are only 5 percent of all the vehicles on the road in the US but are responsible for 25 percent of vehicle emissions. Since emissions from cars and trucks are the single greatest source of the nation’s emissions, it is clear that having a larger electric truck fleet is the best way to significantly reduce carbon emissions from vehicles.
That “all of government” approach aligns with what the trucking and freight industries are asking the Biden administration for, said Ray Minjares of the. Last year, it published an analysis indicating that prioritizing early EV truck-charging investments in up to 10 key states, including California, Florida, Illinois and Ohio, can satisfy nearly half of the expected needs of zero emissions trucks by 2030.
Since the EPA introduced the proposed rule last year, there has been substantial push back from the trucking and truck manufacturing industries, much of it over fears that there will not be enough high power charging hubs to make electric truck routes possible. The Truck and Engine Manufacturers’ Association and American Trucking Association trade groups asked the EPA to extend the deadlines for vehicles to comply with its rules to 2030.
The latest federal zero emissions freight strategy “helps respond to those infrastructure complaints,” Minjares said. ICCT advocates for a national strategy that can bridge the gaps in cost and uptake between different states and help ensure that the interstate highways that connect them are considered as a whole, not in a state by state fashion.
Dawn Fenton, vice president of public affairs for Volvo Group North America and chair of Powering America’s Commercial Transportation, a consortium launched in January, toldthere is significant urgency to identify where high power charging hubs should be built. The ICCT predicts the US will need nearly 600,000 high-speed chargers to serve medium- and heavy-duty vehicles by 2030.