2Sustain

New research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) shows that electric vehicles are not just environmentally friendly; they also have the potential to improve the bottom line for many kinds of businesses.

Granted, the up-front costs of electric vehicles can be significant. A company looking to purchase an electric-powered delivery truck today will likely have to shell out nearly $150,000 –compared to about $50,000 for the same kind of truck with a standard internal-combustion engine.

But, the researchers at MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics (CTL) found that electric vehicles used to make deliveries on an everyday basis in big cities can cost 9 to 12 percent less to operate than trucks powered by diesel engines. What’s more, as battery costs continue to drop, the business case for electric vehicles will only get better, according to Jarrod Goentzel, director of the Renewable Energy Delivery Project at CTL and one of four co-authors of the new study.

The CTL study was conducted using data collected by the international office supplier Staples, as well as ISO New England, the nonprofit firm that runs New England’s electric power grid.

Using that data, the researchers modeled the costs for a fleet of 250 delivery trucks, and they examined alternate scenarios in which the whole fleet used one of three kinds of motors: purely electric engines, hybrid gas-electric engines and conventional diesel engines.

The researchers analyzed outcomes if the trucks in the fleet were driven 70 miles a day for 253 work days per year, with diesel gasoline costing $4 per gallon. They found that: (more…)

Earlier this month, PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay North America announced the addition of ten new trucks to its growing all-electric fleet – a move that pushes the company closer to its goal of becoming the most fuel-efficient commercial fleet in the country.

Frito-Lay is working with Smith Electric Vehicles, the nation’s top manufacturer of battery-electric commercial trucks and a leader in the development of commercial electric trucks designed to operate at peak effectiveness in urban environments. All told, Frito-Lay says it plans to deploy 176 all-electric vehicles in the US and Canada this year.

Some benefits of these trucks include: (more…)

By the end of 2011, PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay North America division will have the largest fleet of commercial all-electric trucks in North America.

Frito-Lay will be rolling out five new electric trucks in New York City this month. 21 more will be deployed this year. After that, an additional 150 will join the fleet next year.

The trucks, designed by Smith Electric Vehicles, generate zero tailpipe emissions and operate for up to 100 miles on a single charge. Smith Electric is a leader in the development of commercial electric trucks designed to operate at peak effectiveness in urban environments, and the company produces the Newton, which is the only all-electric commercial truck on the market. (more…)

Even though a federal judge is expected to lift the injunction that has stalled the Clean Truck Program at the Port of Los Angeles, officials there said last week that they will not immediately enforce a ban on freight haulers who don’t comply with the program’s strict requirements.

According to dailybreeze.com, the Port officials are delaying the ban so that trucking companies have enough time to comply with provisions of the program that were deemed last month to be legal by a US District Judge. (more…)

Will shifting freight from trucks to rail create a greener transport system?

Not necessarily, according to a new report from FTR Associates.

In Today’s Trucking, Noel Perry, who wrote the report, says it’s not an “either/or” proposition. Instead, maximum energy efficiency might be gained from more transloading of freight between truck and rail, where truck is used for local transport and rail for the intercity movement. (more…)