Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Heavy-Duty Truck Electrification and the Impacts of Depot Charging on Electricity Distribution Systems

Journal Article · · Nature Energy

Major technological advancements and recent policy support are improving the outlook for heavy-duty truck electrification in the United States. In particular, short-haul operations (=200 miles (=322 km)) are prevalent and early candidates for plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) given their short, predictable routes and return-to-base applications, which allows vehicles to recharge when off shift at their depots. Although previous studies investigated the impacts of added electrical loads on distribution systems, which included light-duty EVs, the implications for heavy-duty EV charging are underexplored. Here we summarize the causes, costs and lead times of distribution system upgrades anticipated for depot charging. We also developed synthetic depot charging load profiles for heavy-duty trucks from real-world operating schedules, and found that charging requirements are met at common light-duty EV charging rates (=100 kW per vehicle). Finally, we applied depot charging load profiles to 36 distribution real-world substations, which showed that most can accommodate high levels of heavy-duty EV charging without upgrades.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Vehicle Technologies Office (EE-3V)
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1807669
Report Number(s):
NREL/JA-5400-78232; MainId:32149; UUID:6edfab04-307e-4b85-9112-7d514df0fb8e; MainAdminID:25761
Journal Information:
Nature Energy, Journal Name: Nature Energy Vol. 6
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (20)

Decarbonizing intraregional freight systems with a focus on modal shift journal August 2018
2019 Distribution System Upgrade Unit Cost Database Current Version
  • Horowitz, Kelsey
  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory - Data (NREL-DATA), Golden, CO (United States); National Renewable Energy Laboratory https://doi.org/10.7799/1491263
dataset January 2019
Levelized Cost of Charging Electric Vehicles in the United States journal July 2020
The rise of electric vehicles—2020 status and future expectations journal March 2021
Role of the Freight Sector in Future Climate Change Mitigation Scenarios journal March 2017
Impact of Non-Systematic Electric Vehicle Charging Behaviour on a Distribution Substation conference September 2019
Does a battery-electric truck make a difference? – Life cycle emissions, costs, and externality analysis of alternative fuel-powered Class 8 heavy-duty trucks in the United States journal January 2017
Performance Metrics Required of Next-Generation Batteries to Make a Practical Electric Semi Truck journal June 2017
Battery electric propulsion: An option for heavy-duty vehicles? Results from a Swiss case-study journal March 2018
TIMES modelling of transport sector in China and USA: Comparisons from a decarbonization perspective journal January 2016
Impact of electric vehicles on distribution substations: A Swiss case study journal January 2015
Battery Dimensioning and Life Cycle Costs Analysis for a Heavy-Duty Truck Considering the Requirements of Long-Haul Transportation journal December 2017
Prospects for a Highly Electric Road Transportation Sector in the USA journal August 2020
Data-driven smart charging for heterogeneous electric vehicle fleets journal August 2020
A coordinated Framework for Optimized Charging of EV Fleet in Smart Grid journal January 2016
Electric Vehicle Charging on Residential Distribution Systems: Impacts and Mitigations journal January 2015
Drive Cycle Powertrain Efficiencies and Trends Derived from EPA Vehicle Dynamometer Results journal May 2014
Transportation Energy Data Book: Edition 38 report January 2020
Detailed assessment of global transport-energy models’ structures and projections journal August 2017
Reforming electricity rates to enable economically competitive electric trucking journal December 2019