2 minute read
the Messy middle: a time for
the Messy middle: a time for action
the Messy middle: a time for
• Many optimization solutions
• Many optimization solutions
• Growing infrastructure
• Growing infrastructure
• Multi-fuel choices
• Multi-fuel choices
• Innovation & maturation
• Innovation & maturation
• Facts replacing estimates
• Facts replacing estimates
• Learning curves
• Learning curves
• Fast charging
• Fast charging
• Hydrogen everywhere
• Hydrogen everywhere
• Long-life, low-cost batteries
• Long-life, low-cost batteries
Acceptable weights & costs
Acceptable weights & costs
• Diesel Advancements
• Diesel Advancements
• Natural Gas
• Natural Gas
• Hybrids
• Hybrids
• Hydrogen ICE
• Hydrogen ICE
• Battery Electric
• Battery Electric
• Hydrogen Fuel Cells
• Hydrogen Fuel Cells
• Renewable Natural Gas & Diesel
• Renewable Natural Gas & Diesel
• More
• More
• CBEV & HFCEV from Clean Energy
• CBEV & HFCEV from Clean Energy for a lot of these duty cycles and vocations,” Argue says.
Jessica Savage is Vice President of Service and Distribution at Xos Trucks, a manufacturer of stateof-the-art electric commercial vehicles. She says that starting in mid-2024 Xos Trucks will roll out a full line of Class 5-8 trucks to address a variety of customers’ applications. “We have some really in-depth energy calculations that we can dive into with them to make sure that we are going to be able to meet their needs,” she says. Vehicle choice isn’t the only consideration for food shippers with private fleets or their forhire trucking providers. Both Xos and Peterbilt have networks in place to aid with infrastructure and the full electrification journey.
A key consideration is electricity availability. When a utility company has to increase the power grid to accommodate a fleet’s needs, it can add years to implementation. That doesn’t necessarily mean food shippers should rush. Savage says sometimes Xos will counsel customers to wait six months to a year for technology to advance that’s a better fit for their duty cycle, vocation and performance requirements.
For fleets that don’t want to wait and aren’t ready to buy, Fluid Truck offers the opportunity to rent EVs. Fluid Trucks is a peer-to-peer truck sharing platform that offers 24/7 mobile access to a wide array of trucks. Jenifer Snyder, Co-Founder and General Counsel of Fluid Truck explains, “We work with a lot of small and medium businesses who just can’t afford to buy an EV.”
By renting or buying, carbonreducing commercial vehicles are coming. Rick Mihelic, Director of Emerging Technologies at the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) is hopeful about green trucks and fleets taking root. NACFE works to drive the development and adoption of efficiency enhancing, environmentally beneficial, and cost-effective technologies, services and methodologies in the North American freight industry.
“Somewhere around 2040 you’ll see about a 50-50 mix in the populations,” says Mihelic. And that’s good news for food shippers – and the planet they feed.
