EDITORIAL: Bigger barrier to CBEVs: Batteries or infrastructure?

Batteries have long been considered the main barrier to deployment of commercial battery-electric vehicles (CBEVs), but many industry insiders now say charging infrastructure is a bigger impediment as battery costs continue to decline.

“A decade ago we would have said battery cost is the biggest barrier, but I think we're moving beyond that,” Gary Parker, Director of Electrified Power Engineering Programs at Cummins, said at the recent Green Truck Summit in Indianapolis. “Infrastructure is going to be one of the big barriers, if we can get through not just basic capital costs but also the grid and its stability.”