ATLANTA, Feb. 24, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Since
2009, the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) and
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) have been working with the trucking
industry to increase confidence in energy-efficient technologies
and practices, as well as guiding fleets as they adopt disruptive
new technologies. Through its extensive work on regional haul and
electric trucks, NACFE has discovered that regional trucking
operations are well suited to be early adopters of electric trucks,
and the two organizations are now beginning specific work to
identify opportunities and address challenges.
"Our research has shown us that regional haul is an important
segment of the trucking industry and also one that makes sense for
electrification, given its short-haul nature and return-to-base
operation," said Mike Roeth, NACFE
executive director.
Because trucks need to be able to travel long distances,
carrying heavy loads, day after day, electrification presents
unique challenges to both the vehicle and its charging
infrastructure. Together, NACFE and RMI will focus on this complex
issue, working on four complementary workstreams:
- Identifying high-potential regional trucking routes in concert
with changes to freight movement;
- Supporting the implementation of initial and future deployments
outside of California;
- Scaling best practices in infrastructure development for fleets
and communities; and
- Increasing confidence in the value of electrification.
"Electrification of heavy transport is critical to the energy
transition, but it's not an easy road," said Dave Mullaney, head of RMI's Heavy Transport
initiative. "This is arguably one of the biggest challenges
utilities and fleets will face in the coming decades. This problem
is solvable, but it requires someone to lead the charge. RMI is
excited to partner with NACFE on this important work."
Specific activities for 2020 will include data analysis,
interviews with key stakeholders, collaboration workshops and
publishing findings in order to share learnings with all interested
parties. This will build on NACFE and RMI's existing work in this
area, including Run on Less Regional, their thought-leadership
piece on regional haul, and the Guidance Report series on electric
trucks.
Roeth explained that the success of this effort will depend in
part on collaboration. "We need people to engage with us by
attending our workshops, sharing their knowledge about regional
haul and/or electric trucks, or by helping fund this critical
work."
For more information, please contact
trucking-contact@rmi.org
About Rocky Mountain Institute
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)—an independent nonprofit founded in
1982—transforms global energy use to create a clean, prosperous,
and secure low-carbon future. It engages businesses, communities,
institutions, and entrepreneurs to accelerate the adoption of
market-based solutions that cost-effectively shift from fossil
fuels to efficiency and renewables. RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder,
Colorado; New York City;
Washington, D.C.; and Beijing. http://www.rmi.org
About the North American Council for Freight Efficiency
The North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) is a
nonprofit organization dedicated to doubling the freight efficiency
of North American goods movement. NACFE provides independent,
unbiased research for the transformation of the transportation
industry. Data is critical and NACFE is helping the industry with
real-world information that fleets can use to take action. In 2014,
NACFE collaborated with Carbon War Room, founded by Sir
Richard Branson and now a part of
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), to deliver tools and reports to
improve trucking efficiency. These reports include a series of
Confidence Reports that detail the solutions that exist, highlight
the benefits and consequences of each, and deliver decision-making
tools for fleets, manufacturers, and others. As of early 2018,
NACFE and RMI have completed 16 such reports covering nearly all
the 85 technologies available. NACFE also is doing work on guiding
future technologies, and has already published four Guidance
Reports on commercial battery electric vehicles. In 2020, the
organization will focus on electric vehicles in regional haul. All
reports are available at http://www.nacfe.org.
SOURCE Rocky Mountain Institute