Charging needs for electric semi-trailer trucks

Abstract

Battery-electric vehicles provide a pathway to decarbonize heavy-duty trucking, but the market for heavy-duty battery-electric semi-trailer trucks is nascent, and specific charging requirements remain uncertain. We leverage large-scale vehicle telematics data (>205 million miles of driving) to estimate the charging behaviors and infrastructure requirements for U.S. battery-electric semi-trailer trucks within three operating segments: local, regional, and long-haul. We model two types of charging—mid-shift (fast) and off-shift (slow)—and show that off-shift charging at speeds compatible with current light-duty charging infrastructure (i.e., ≤350 kW) can supply 35 to 77% of total energy demand for local and regional trucks with ≥300-mile range. Megawatt-level speeds are required for mid-shift charging, which make up 44 to 57% of energy demand for long-haul trucks with ≥500-mile range. However, demand shifts from mid-shift to off-shift charging as the range for battery-electric trucks increases and when off-shift charging is widely available. Finally, we observe geographic trends in charging demand, finding that local trucks have greater demand within urban areas, whereas long-haul trucks have more demand along rural interstate corridors. As the range for battery-electric trucks increases, we show that charging demand shifts from rural to urban locations due to observed vehicle dwell tendencies.