Did you know that freight requiring transport within a specified temperature range encompasses about 15% of straight trucks and trailers? That was one of the things we learned from our research for our first Guidance Report on transport refrigeration units.
These shipments include fresh produce and other perishable foods, pharmaceuticals, electronics, and plants and flowers. Other products, such as dairy products, chocolate/candy, eggs, meats, fish, frozen foods, paints, and some chemicals, require temperature control during shipping.
Today, nearly all transport refrigeration units are diesel-powered, which means they produce harmful emissions. As we move into a cleaner transportation future, we need more options for reducing emissions from TRUs.
The primary way to eliminate emissions from TRUs is by replacing the diesel-fueled internal combustion engine driving the compressor with an electric motor. These electric transport refrigeration units generally are powered by either the traction battery when installed on an electric straight truck chassis or by dedicated batteries when installed on a trailer.
New refrigeration units have been developed to run with zero emissions using electricity, and there are many eTRUs currently available or under development. Still, moving and delivering refrigerated goods with zero or significantly lower emissions while maintaining quality is a significant challenge.
See also: Roeth: Well-deserved recognition for fleets making efficiency strides
The good news is that since its inception, the trucking industry has responded to challenges with innovative, creative solutions that have had a decent return on investment and an acceptable total cost of operation.
The industry will likely also rise to the challenge of reducing emissions in the transportation of refrigerated goods. As efforts are underway to build a charging infrastructure for battery electric vehicles, we should try to expand it to incorporate the requirements of electric transport refrigeration units as well.
Electric transport refrigeration units are in the nascent stage of their development, but regulations from CARB, in particular, are already in place. While this was our first report on TRUs, I am very sure it won’t be our last. NACFE will continue to watch and report on developments in this area and foster conversations between key stakeholders on best practices surrounding electrifying transport refrigeration.
Working together, we’ll find the appropriate solutions—we always do.
