WASHINGTON — New trucking industry-backed research finds renewable diesel (RD) fuel to be significantly less costly and more operationally effective than transitioning to battery-powered trucks.
Electric vehicle purchases and electric infrastructure will cost the long-haul sector more than $1 trillion over 15 years, a study released Tuesday by the American Transportation Research Institue (ATRI) estimates.
That compares with $203 billion using renewable fuel to power internal combustion engine (ICE) trucks to achieve similar decarbonization benefits, the study found.
“My company quickly and successfully transitioned to renewable diesel in April of last year,” said Andy Owens, a member of ATRI’s research advisory committee and CEO of A&M Transport, a Glendale, Oregon, truckload hauler. “ATRI’s research offers concrete evidence that this move is better for the environment and easier to achieve than other low-carbon options.”
The report, which comes weeks after the Biden administration rolled out new tailpipe emission standards for heavy-duty trucks, adds to previous ATRI research on zero-emission vehicles and electric infrastructure challenges.
Unlike biodiesel, which can corrode engines due to the way it’s produced, renewable diesel is produced to be chemically identical to petroleum diesel, ATRI points out, and can therefore be mixed with petroleum diesel in any amount or used as a stand-alone fuel in a traditional diesel truck “without consequences.”
In addition to cost comparisons, the research conducted environmental and operational comparisons between heavy-duty truck tractors propelled by ICE using renewable diesel and those powered by batteries.
Among environmental benefits, ATRI found that life-cycle carbon emissions — which includes production and supply chain costs — are approximately 50% lower for ICE using renewable fuels than for BEVs. “Government mandates requiring a shift to BEV instead of ICE RD would result in fleets increasing their total CO2 emissions,” according to the report.
In comparing truck operations, ATRI noted that the distance a Class 8 truck can travel between charging and the cargo weight a vehicle can carry are key metrics for measuring and maintaining efficient operations in trucking.
Because batteries required for heavy-duty truck engines weigh thousands of pounds, the study found that for every 1,000 ICE trucks replaced by BEV trucks hauling the additional weight, as many as 343 more trucks — with corresponding additional emissions — will be needed to haul the same amount of freight, taking into account federal and state highway weight limits.
“RD has the ability to achieve public policy goals related to CO2 emissions at a discounted price and with greater certainty than BEV,” ATRI stated.
“Existing programs, such as the federal producers tax credit, must continue for the foreseeable future to encourage new entrants (both in terms of companies and facilities) into the RD production environment.”
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