{"id":13827,"date":"2022-06-04T16:58:32","date_gmt":"2022-06-04T14:58:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=13827"},"modified":"2022-06-04T16:59:04","modified_gmt":"2022-06-04T14:59:04","slug":"battery-electric-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2022\/06\/04\/battery-electric-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Futurist: Battery-electric trucks are a ‘fantasy’"},"content":{"rendered":"

BEVs could have their day, but if the industry\u2019s focus is on decarbonization, fuel cells are trucking\u2019s future, according to a transportation futurist, who laid out the case for hydrogen. That’s an argument also backed by ATRI and Tier 1 suppliers.<\/p>\n

NEW ORLEANS\u2014The future of trucking is clean, but battery-electric transport is just a fantasy.<\/p>\n

Transportation futurist Gary Golden<\/a> told fleet leaders gathered here for Solera<\/a> Outlook 2022 why he believes hydrogen will win out in the race to power their electric trucks and personal vehicles.<\/p>\n

In the energy and transportation world, there is a debate between \u201cpure electrification\u201d and decarbonization, he said. The former focuses on electrifying everything\u2014from transportation to manufacturing. \u201cDecarbonization says we\u2019re going to try to electrify as much as we can\u2014but we can\u2019t deny the role that molecule fuels play in the world,\u201d Golden explained. \u201cMolecule fuels, chemical bonds, deliver 80% of the world\u2019s energy.”<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that electrification\u2014particularly in the transportation sector\u2014is what we would call a fantasy wrapped in an illusion,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t buy it. I don\u2019t believe it. I don\u2019t care what anybody says. I don\u2019t care when a person is like, \u2018I have an electric car. I love it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Hydrogen fuel-cell trucks are the most decarbonized freight vehicles, according to a recent American Transportation Research Institute report<\/a>. \u201cBattery-electric trucks are only about 30% cleaner than diesel trucks,\u201d Daniel Murray, ATRI SVP, said during a breakout session at Solera\u2019s first user conference since expanding its fleet solutions through several recent acquisitions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

During his keynote speech that morning, Golden said the future of EVs is about the motor, not the battery. \u201cHow we deliver the electricity to that motor is of debate,\u201d he explained. \u201cBut it\u2019s the motor that defines the EV.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Into The Future | Gary Golden<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Electrification<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The EV conundrum<\/h3>\n

Golden\u00a0asserted that the cheapest EV powertrain is a small battery, hydrogen fuel cell, and capacitor.\u00a0 \u201cBecause when you look at the mature, full-picture, long-term cost curve per kilowatt of a battery versus a fuel cell, fuel cells will be cheaper than batteries,\u201d he said. \u201cNot today, but in a mature manufacturing world, fuel cells will always be cheaper because they don\u2019t have the mineral requirements that batteries do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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