The Problems and Challenges with Electric Freight Trucks

Electric Trucks Are The Future, But How Close Is That Future?

Electric vehicles (EVs) are quickly becoming a central part of the push to reduce emissions and combat climate change. While passenger electric cars have seen widespread adoption, transitioning the freight industry to electric trucks has proven to be very challenging, for multiple reasons.

From production issues to the heavy weight of batteries, and from infrastructure challenges to economic feasibility, electric freight trucks face several hurdles that must be addressed before businesses can reasonably consider replacing their current fleets. 

So let’s dive right into the major challenges standing before the green and electric freight truck revolution.

EVs Face Serious Production Challenges

Electric freight truck production is very different from traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Significant investments in research and development (R&D), factory equipment changes, and sourcing specialized materials like lithium, cobalt, and nickel would be required for factories to produce EV batteries.

There are several key issues with scaling the production of electric freight trucks:

• High Production Costs: Electric trucks are currently more expensive to manufacture, primarily due to battery production costs.
• Supply Chain Issues: The materials needed for batteries (lithium, cobalt, etc.) are in high demand, and the technology for acquiring them cleanly is not yet there.
• Semiconductor Shortage: Electric trucks require advanced electronics, and the recent global semiconductor shortage has slowed production (Although it is currently recovering).

All of this makes it difficult for electric freight trucks to reach the production levels necessary to make them worthwhile for business and fleet owners.

Battery Weight and Size

One of the most significant hurdles for electric freight trucks is the battery. The heavier and more powerful a truck is, the larger and heavier the battery. Unfortunately, batteries for electric trucks can weigh several tons, which means a tricky trade-off between travel range and maximum cargo capacity.

• Heavier Batteries: Long-haul electric trucks need large battery packs to achieve any range worth mentioning, but those batteries add a lot of weight to the vehicle.
• Reduced Cargo Capacity: Heavier batteries mean less freight can be hauled to stay within legal weight limits, which vastly reduces the truck’s efficiency and profitability.

In short, the larger the battery required for range, the less cargo the truck can carry—posing a significant challenge for long-distance freight operations.

Vehicle Weight and Cargo Capacity

The weight of the batteries directly impacts the vehicle’s overall weight. Freight companies aim to maximize the amount of cargo they can transport, but with electric trucks, the batteries take up a considerable portion of the weight limit allowed for trucks.

In North America, trucks have a gross vehicle weight limit of 80,000 pounds, which includes the truck itself, the cargo, and the fuel (or in this case, the battery). Electric trucks must balance between more range, which requires more batteries, and the need to carry as much cargo as possible.

This presents a major challenge for electric freight trucks, especially for long-haul shipping, where every pound of cargo counts toward the profitability of each trip.

Sky’s The Limit… Or Is It

Batteries limit travel range, and scarce charging infrastructure mean more trouble for electric freight trucks. Electric trucks can currently offer ranges of 250-300 miles per charge. This is still less than what diesel trucks can achieve. And with longer charging times (likely overnight), they’ve still got ways to go.

The Current Issues:

• Limited Range: The range of electric freight trucks is currently shorter than their diesel counterparts, especially for long-distance hauls. Not only do EVs have a shorter range, but they’re (currently) limited to a range around designated depots so that they can safely get home before the battery runs dry.
• Charging Infrastructure: Unlike electric cars, which have a growing network of charging stations, electric freight trucks require high-capacity charging stations that are still scarce. That means that not only do gas pumps need to start offering serious chargers for freight trucks, but that carriers who choose to invest in EVs will need to equip their terminals with charging stations too.

What this means is that electric freight trucks will, at least for the foreseeable future, have to remain close to their home terminals. While this may not be perfect for long hauls across the country, they could be ideal for first and last-mile shipping which is a significant portion of all freight shipping.

Economic Feasibility

EFTs are, most importantly, expensive, which is one of the most significant barriers to their adoption. While electric trucks offer long-term fuel savings, their upfront cost is much higher than that of traditional diesel trucks at the moment.

Replacing a traditional ICE truck is expensive in and of itself, but buying a new electric truck is currently a heavy money sink that most shipping companies cannot afford. 

And although fuel savings over time may make up for the initial cost, the ROI is often unclear, especially when factoring in charging infrastructure and potential loss of cargo capacity due to battery weight.

On top of all that, electric trucks require specialized maintenance and infrastructure, which could increase operational costs for businesses even further. 

Government subsidies may offer a partial solution to these issues, however. And with reduced noise pollution as well as GHG pollution, we may see an uptick in their use despite all the mentioned problems.

Battery Degradation and Replacement

Electric truck batteries degrade over time, which reduces their range and performance. After years of use, these batteries will likely need to be replaced, which is another hurdle businesses may experience… and without subsidies too.

Battery technology is improving, but the cost and frequency of battery replacement remain a significant concern for business owners who rely on consistent, long-term performance from their vehicles.

Environmental and Ethical Concerns

While electric trucks significantly reduce emissions, there are still environmental and ethical concerns associated with battery production. The extraction of materials like lithium and cobalt can have a serious negative environmental impact, and labor practices in some of the countries where these materials are sourced raise ethical questions.

Additionally, the electricity used to charge electric trucks may still come from non-renewable energy sources, which reduces the environmental benefits of transitioning to electric vehicles.

Of course, another issue to raise is that trucks on the road still cause congestion and traffic. While alternatives such as trains are available, the rail networks across the USA and Canada have been much less improved in recent years than roads. This means that the pros and cons of using electric trucks vs. trains, for example, are still very complex not only when it comes to the environmental impact, but also to the overall quality of life of drivers and citizens.

Conclusion

Electric freight trucks hold great potential for reducing emissions in the logistics industry, but their widespread adoption faces several significant challenges such as:

• The high cost of production and battery materials.
• The heavy weight of batteries, which reduces cargo capacity.
• Limited range and inadequate charging infrastructure.
• Economic challenges related to upfront costs and the long-term ROI.
• Environmental impact of producing batteries vs. producing ICE trucks and oil.

While electric trucks are clearly the future of freight transportation, overcoming these challenges will require continued advancements in battery technology, investments in charging infrastructure, and government incentives to make the transition more affordable for businesses. With these improvements, electric freight trucks can become a viable solution for reducing emissions and transforming the logistics industry.

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