If my memory serves me correctly, it was Henry Albert who described the first Run on Less “as the most competitive non-competitive event ever.” When NACFE first decided to hold Run on Less back in 2017, we were clear that the seven drivers and trucks were not competing against one another. Instead, we were trying to show the trucking industry how fuel-efficient trucks could be—how, when spec’d properly and driven properly, they could achieve mpg levels far above the national average. And we did that.
None of the subsequent Runs were promoted as competitions, yet some people view them that way.
In September, Run on Less—Messy Middle kicks off. I am a little concerned that folks will see it as a cage match between four technology solutions: diesel, natural gas, battery electric, and hydrogen fuel cells. But that is not how we see it.
We see this as an opportunity for the trucking industry to examine these four technology solutions in-depth and better understand their benefits and challenges, specifically in long-haul return-to-base and over-the-road applications.
We know that as we move toward transporting goods more sustainably, diesel may not be the only option. We are hard at work locating fleets that are using each of these powertrain solutions effectively in their operations so that we can showcase under what conditions each performs best.
See also: Top 10 FleetOwner Emissions & Efficiency stories of 2024
We are also holding a 13-session boot camp that will allow experts in each of the technologies to share best practices for deploying them and address some of the challenges fleets may face when switching from diesel or adding another powertrain option to their existing fleet of diesel trucks.
For the past 100 years, trucking has been lucky to have one fuel—diesel—that met our needs. But our needs have changed. Trucking still disproportionately releases harmful emissions into the atmosphere, and we need to improve our performance in this area. While diesel will likely have a place in the trucking industry for decades to come, we need to start exploring other options so that we can reduce the amount of CO2 we emit as an industry.
Run on Less—Messy Middle will give us a chance to see fleets running trucks with various powertrain options in real-world routes to allow all of us to see which technology solutions make sense under which operating conditions.
I can’t stop you from viewing Run on Less—Messy Middle as a competition. The only bet I am taking is that once it’s over, we’ll all have a better idea of three critical things for our industry's future:
- Which various efficiency solutions perform best in certain operating conditions;
- What challenges fleets will face trying to implement those technology solutions; and
- How to move freight in a more sustainable manner.
