I spent much of June on the road visiting sites of some of the fleet depots that are participating in Run on Less—Electric Depot. So far, we have completed 78 official on-camera interviews, and I suspect by the time we are done visiting all the depots, we will have conducted well over 100.
It was really fun being out in the field talking with fleet managers, drivers, representatives from the truck OEMs, charger makers, utilities companies, and others about what’s involved in moving from deploying one or two battery-electric vehicles to deploying 15 or many more.
There was not a bad interview among the 78 we conducted. Sure, some people were a little camera shy, but once they got comfortable being filmed, they leaped into sharing what they have been learning about scaling BEVs.
The trucking industry has many talented, committed, and driven people, and the same is true for those involved in helping to scale EVs. But I couldn’t help but notice the passion and enthusiasm the people had when it came to talking about battery-electric vehicles. All of them were knowledgeable, competent, and committed, but more than anything it was their excitement and positive energy that stuck with me.
See also: How aerodynamics can extend Class 8 EV range
This bodes well for a zero-emission freight future. Passionate, committed people have a way of rallying others around them and getting them to share their enthusiasm. As I’ve said before, electrifying trucking is not going to be a simple task. There are and will continue to be challenges, especially in the move to electrify long-haul trucking, but we should not avoid pressing on. Having people who are passionate about battery-electric trucks will help the industry as a whole push beyond those rough spots. The folks I have spoken with so far in our efforts to develop profiles of all the Run on Less—Electric Depot participants believe in a zero-emission freight future and are going to help lead us there.
I am glad I got to talk to some of them, and I look forward to sharing some of their passion with you when we start posting the fleet profiles on the Run on Less website starting on August 1. I hope you will be inspired by their stories and catch their passion.
Michael Roeth has worked in the commercial vehicle industry for nearly 30 years, most recently as executive director of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE). He serves on the second National Academy of Sciences Committee on Technologies and Approaches for Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicles and has held various positions in engineering, quality, sales, and plant management with Navistar and Behr/Cummins.
