The North American Council for Freight Efficiency’s final report from its Run on Less – Electric DEPOT event concludes electric trucks “perform well” across duty cycles. However infrastructure, cost and data collection challenges persist

The North American Council for Freight Efficiency’s (NACFE) final report from its Run on Less – Electric DEPOT demonstration is out.

During the three-week demonstration event, which took place in September 2023, NACFE monitored the performance of 22 electric trucks ranging from Class 2 (vans, step vans) to Class 8 (regional and long-haul trucks). These trucks, from 11 different manufacturers, operated out of 10 depots located in California, New York and British Columbia.

An initial report, published in May, outlined the basic details of the run and its execution. But the second report, Run on Less – Electric DEPOT: Scaling BEVs in the Real World, offers a detailed analysis of the data collected.

“Electric trucks work and they do really well in many duty cycles,” says NACFE’s executive director, Mike Roeth in an interview with Electric Autonomy.

“Shorter duty cycles where we don’t need quite the range — so anything under a couple hundred miles [320 km] a day” are performing especially well, adds Roeth.

NACFE highlights four key conclusions in the depot report.

These are:

• Electric vans, trucks and heavy-duty tractors are on the road today and are performing well in many duty cycles;
• Infrastructure, both at the depots and strategically placed along freight corridors, is needed now;
• Heavy-duty tractor OEMs should make cost and weight improvements a priority; and
• More realistic data on all key performance metrics is needed. 

NACFE evaluates charging needs

Among the listed shortcomings, the need for more and better charging infrastructure is the biggest priority, says the NACFE report.

When building chargers at depots, it’s essential to consider the varying charging needs of fleets.

“We need to keep our eyes on fast charging and keep advancing the technology so that we can charge fast now,” says Roeth. “But the good news is that a lot of trucks do not need fast charging.”

Many vehicles operate on shorter routes and can return-to-base and charge slowly overnight at depots.

“Battery electric trucks have a lot of runway with small vehicles, vans and step vans, medium box trucks, that we think will pull then into even better and better performance to cover more and more of the market over time,” says Roeth.

The NACFE report also finds fleets can address issues around charging by partnering and sharing chargers.

“Some of the depots in the run since September are now charging out in the wild,” says Roeth. “We have a case where one fleet in Fresno, Calif., is able to use a Penske charging location to extend the range of their trucks rather than get all the way home.”

When chargers are in depots, the report states utilities need to provide fleets with realistic timelines for developing charging infrastructure. In turn, fleets need to recognize that the planning process for utilities can take longer than they are used to.

Lowering costs and forming partnerships

The report states many fleets struggle with making a compelling total cost of ownership (TCO) case for electric vehicles. NACFE recommends that vehicle manufacturers prioritize cost and weight improvements.

“We believe OEMs have the opportunity to lower the cost of the trucks,” says Roeth. “Either by direct material work, or just scaling and recognition of lower overhead costs and indirect manufacturing costs would help bring these costs down and improve the total cost of ownership.”

Roeth also emphasizes the need for better cost management strategies.

“There’s a lot of work that’s just starting around how we help these trucks be cost-effective, either through better management of charging to lower the electricity costs, or in lower upfront costs of the trucks and the chargers.”

NACFE’s final conclusion emphasizes the need for more realistic data on all key performance metrics to expedite BEV adoption.

“There is a need for better quality performance data on BEV operations — not measured solely on the vehicle, but also measured at the charger, at the depot and from a utility perspective,” reads the NACFE report.

What’s after NACFE Depot?

“I can conclude by saying today that [BEVs] work in some applications. They are definitely cost effective in smaller trucks, but they’re not ready for prime time as you get heavier and heavier and longer distances,” says Roeth.

“We believe in the simplicity of a battery electric truck, the efficiency and we think that the grid can improve and handle the demand. We just got a lot of work to do over the next few years, so we’re still very optimistic and we’ll continue to do reporting on it.”

NACFE is now planning its next Run-On-Less event for 2025.

“We’re not sure yet exactly what it’s going to be but..there’s a lot going on with hydrogen engines, renewable fuels,” says Roeth.