If you were asked where you think electric trucks will initially see their widest deployment, I am fairly confident most of you would say California. And while that would be right, it does not tell the whole story. We sought to go find it.
In order to determine which U.S. regions were ripest for electric truck deployments, we developed a framework that consisted of the following:
- Technology – Identify the regions that are most favorable to the unique attributes of the technology itself.
- Need – Identify the regions that exhibit the greatest need for the technology.
- Support – Identify the regions that provide the most support for the technology.
Items we considered under technology included range, the price of electricity and regenerative braking. Need focused on air quality, freight flow and equity and environmental justice. Support included state and city polices and incentives, utility programs and rates and training programs.
We identified the area where the three criteria intersect a hot spot for near-term regional haul truck deployment.
In addition to the expected northern and southern California regions, we identified the Texas Triangle, Cascadia, Colorado Front Range and Northeast regions as regions fleets should consider to be the highest priority for electric truck deployments. We are hoping that by identifying hot spots we can help fleets, especially those with multiple locations, determine where it makes the most sense to make their electric truck investments.
Because many fleet operations are not confined to individual states, we encourage fleets to look at electric truck deployments at the regional level. It is also important for fleets to remember that incentives and other support for electric truck adoption can vary drastically by region. Also, we advise fleets to work with policymakers, regulators, utilities, and other stakeholders in their region to collaboratively develop strategies to advance zero-emission trucks.
While our report identifies the regions with the highest potential for regional haul electric trucks today, we are confident that as the technology develops further, we expect even more regions to become even more favorable for electric trucks.
