How to get more electric trucks on the road

E-mobility is all over the news: the growing adoption of electric vehicles (EV), the challenges and benefits of driving electric, range anxiety and battery life, and new developments like plug & charge and vehicle-to-grid (V2G). Even mainstream newspapers regularly write about these topics. But a topic less frequently in the news (but I am convinced this will change shortly) is the electrification of commercial trucks and buses. Let’s dive into this topic for a bit:

Current status of electrification of heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs)

Today, there are just over 10,000 e-buses and 3,600 e-trucks in Europe. This represents 4% and 0.1% of the global bus and truck fleet, respectively.

These numbers are bound to change as countries stimulate the adoption of e-buses and e-trucks, and we see growth rates of up to 78% for the number of e-buses deployed (in Germany) and up to 70% of new e-trucks (in France). This fits in a broader trend to “clean up” diesel-based truck and bus fleets for sustainability reasons by reducing emissions levels.

Goals for emission reduction drive adoption of electric HDVs

Diesel vehicles (mostly HDVs) contribute a disproportionate share of carbon and nitrogen oxides emissions. According to IEA (2021), diesel vehicles are responsible for 78% of CO2 emissions and 86% of NOx globally.

That is why governments are promoting zero-emission vehicles or ZEVs. For example, as part of the Green Deal, which focuses on “net zero emissions” or climate neutrality, European countries are now implementing “Fit for 55.” This is a detailed program to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by 55% from 1990 levels by 2030. The electrification of HDVs is an essential element of this program to reach the targets, and the AFIR (Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation) which was signed this week, will drive further growth in this market.

Some countries are also implementing their own zero emission regulations. For example, Spain has defined a “zona de baja emisión” (or low emission zone) for the city of Madrid, which bans diesel vehicles built before 2006 and petrol vehicles from before 2000 from central areas of the city. The Netherlands has identified around thirty cities where a zero-emission zone in the inner city will be in effect by 2030. And probably the most stringent “ultralow emission zone” you will find in the city of London today, with severe charges being applied to trucks and large vehicles that do not comply with pre-set emission standards.

Infrastructure for e-HDVs needs to be improved

However, setting goals is only one part of the equation. To meet these goals, some serious investments in the clean transportation infrastructure are needed. This includes setting up more hydrogen filling stations to power fuel-cell electric HDVs across Europe (today we have around 250 of those stations), but also further strengthening the EV charging network for trucks and buses. If we are to meet the goals by deploying more zero-emission HDVs onto the roads, drivers should be able to refuel or charge their vehicles in a reliable and efficient way.

We would need at least 100,000 chargers for HDVs across Europe. According to ACEA, there should be “10,000‐15,000 (higher‐power) public and destination charging points no later than 2025, and 40,000‐50,000 charging points no later than 2030. In addition, a target of minimum 40,000 lower power (100 kW) public overnight chargers at truck parking areas along the highways should be set for 2030.”

Challenges to expand charging infrastructure for HDVs

In the remainder, I will focus on the EV charging infrastructure (only) but grosso modo these challenges equally apply to the hydrogen stations infrastructure.

First of all, increasing the number of charging stations means increasing the amount of space or land available to install chargers and parking lots. This is especially true for medium- and long-haul trucks that need public charging stations along the way. For e-buses, dedicated charging depots need to be built, typically in or near urban areas. Both require enough land to build the charging stations on, as well as the proper permits that allow charge point operators (CPOs) to break ground and connect chargers to the grid. According to ChargeUp Europe, the grid connection and permitting processes are the number one bottleneck CPOs face in the rollout of charging infrastructures.

Secondly, as e-HDVs consume much more power than consumer electric cars, the power supply to these (public) charging stations needs to be adequate and reliable. This means, e.g., that the cabling is sufficient to handle large electricity volumes. Also, utility companies need to make sure the grid is able to provide enough energy – also during peak hours – to those HDV charging locations.

Standardization is yet another factor. Whereas most European and American consumer EVs use the same connector (even Tesla is opening up these days) and car manufacturers are busy implementing ISO 15118 to let their EVs automatically communicate with chargers, the landscape for HDVs is still less harmonized. However, for faster and especially economically viable roll-out of an HDV charging infrastructure, further standardization of charging hardware and software as well as roaming and payment services is necessary to achieve benefits of scale.

Governments are playing a key role here, e.g., by softening regulations regarding the use of land for charging stations, improving grid availability and reliability, stimulating the adoption of standards, and by releasing funds and tax benefits to economically justify the purchase of an e-truck or e-bus over a traditional diesel truck or bus. Moreover, as noted by ChargeUp Europe, “the roll-out of a public charging infrastructure for heavy-duty vehicles requires larger investments in comparison to the average light-duty electric vehicle charging infrastructure.” As a result, “funding and subsidies are of vital importance to support the deployment of EV charging stations for HDV and sustain a viable business case.”

Reliability of infrastructure is another important – yet often overlooked – topic. Having public high-power DC chargers to charge electric trucks quickly during stops is one thing but having them up-and-running is quite another. DC chargers typically need more maintenance than AC chargers since they produce higher power outputs (and corresponding heat for example). To let the adoption of electric HDVs really take off, the charging infrastructure needs to be highly reliable, up to 100 percent: the economic damage of an e-truck with an empty battery is simply too high. To guarantee high uptimes, leading charger manufacturers and CPOs – also in the HDV domain – are already partnering with Diebold Nixdorf to deliver reliable, ‘always-on’ charging experiences to drivers. With our team of 11,000 service engineers and our 5,000+ stock locations in over 100 countries, we ensure rapid mounting, commissioning, maintenance, and repair services for EV and HDV chargers.

Conclusion

In less than a decade, EVs have expanded from a niche market to a 170+ billon USD market, having crossed the chasm from early adopters to early majority now. Continuing this trend toward sustainable transport, medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses will soon follow. However, transportation companies, EV charging infrastructure providers, and local governments need to work closely together to realize this. This will not only lead to economic growth in many sectors, but equally important, to a cleaner and more pleasant environment for all of us to live in.

If you want to learn more about reliable charging infrastructures, please visit https://www.dieboldnixdorf.com/evc for more information.

By Reint Jan Holterman, Diebold Nixdorf

Related contents