BROWNOUT FOR COMMERCIAL-VEHICLE ELECTRIFICATION?

Outsized costs for charging infrastructure could slow implementation of battery-electric CVs.

The high cost of batteries to electrify on-road commercial vehicles is one thing. But some connected with or studying electrification for the CV sector now are concerned that the cost of installing high-capacity recharging infrastructure for EV versions of trucks, buses and other on-road commercial vehicles is the latest factor with potential to derail the growth of CV electrification.

One prominent study from earlier this year pegged the cost to the freight industry and utilities at a resounding near-$1 trillion to fully electrify all commercial vehicles over the course of roughly 20 years. And that cost is for infrastructure only, exclusive of the vehicles themselves, “which can be two to three times as expensive as their diesel-powered equivalents,” the report asserted.