193 - The Logistics Episode
About this episode
Exploring the challenges of electrifying heavy trucks, this discussion highlights the energy demands of large vehicles compared to passenger EVs, using examples like Tesla's Semi and Mercedes-Benz eActros 600e. It covers the importance of fast charging infrastructure, such as the megawatt charging system (MCS), and initiatives like Gridserve's Electric Freeway project aiming to support electric freight transport. The episode also touches on urban policies promoting zero-emission zones, exemplified by Stockholm's upcoming fossil fuel vehicle ban in its city center, emphasizing the shift toward sustainable urban mobility and freight solutions.
In Episode 193 Gary looks at the whole Logistics aspect of EVs: What’s the state of play with trucks, vans and other delivery mechanisms and electrification?
In this episode, we’re going to be looking at the scale of the issue and the potential solutions that are out there.
We'll hear from Lorna McAtear - Head of Fleet with National Grid in this episode.
The EV Musings Podcast is sponsored by Zapmap, the go-to app for EV drivers, helping you find and pay for public charging with confidence.
Links in the show notes:
- Getting heavy-duty vehicles in gear for net-zero
- This new all-electric luxury trailer is a 24-foot off-grid sanctuary - - Cool Thing
- Episode 178 - The Fleet Electrification Episode
Episode produced by Arran Sheppard at Urban Podcasts: https://www.urbanpodcasts.co.uk
(C) 2019-2026 Gary Comerford
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Volkswagen Id
"...t is the batteries themselves. Now I can drive my Volkswagen ID three on a run in summer and get anything up to f..."
Tesla Semi
"...lowatt hours per mile. Famously Elon Musk's Tesla semi one of the first fully electric artics to be laun..."
Volkswagen Id3
"how do we do that? Well, it's not as easy as you might imagine. One issue we have at the moment is the batteries themselves. Now I can drive my Volkswagen ID three on a run in summer and get anything up to four and a half or even five miles per kilowatt hour efficiency on the run. That's because it's a smallish, fairly streamlined card that doesn't weigh a great deal in the big scheme of things. It's certainly lighter than the two Volkswagen SUVs my neighbours have got. But if you'd end up scale up to the size of a 40 tonne truck, complete the trailer on the back full of your favourite Morrison's foodstuffs. The amount of energy needed to push that vehicle forward on its trip from the warehouse in Kent. To a store in, say, Newcastle is quite large. In fact, it's measured in kilowatt hours per mile. Famously Elon Musk's Tesla semi one of the first fully electric artics to be launched and which is currently in service with Frito Lay/ Pepsi Cola in the US will need two kilowatt hours of energy to move a vehicle one mile along the road. On average, my ID.3 will do eight to 10 miles on that same two kilowatt hours of energy. However, data coming out from the US indicate that the Tesla semi trucks are performing as well as expected, with one in particular, transporting cans from the Pepsi range, drove 1500 miles over two days. The stats for this are available online, and it appears that the vehicle stopped after 12 hours for a three hour charge, which tops it up to 100% from around 20% state of charge. It also did a couple of shorter stops to extend the range slightly. In a continuous run it covered around 400 miles on the little over 80% of the battery. Now given the huge payload it was carrying, that's not too shabby. What this shows, however, is it for any appreciable distance in an electric truck, you'll need huge batteries. If you've got a truck that does a specific route most days or have the ability to stop fairly regularly, you're going to be able to handle batteries with good charge speed."
Land Range Drove
"it's not as easy as you might imagine. One issue we have at the moment is the batteries themselves. Now I can drive my Volkswagen ID three on a run in summer and get anything up to four and a half or even five miles per kilowatt hour efficiency on the run. That's because it's a smallish, fairly streamlined card that doesn't weigh a great deal in the big scheme of things. It's certainly lighter than the two Volkswagen SUVs my neighbours have got. But if you'd end up scale up to the size of a 40 tonne truck, complete the trailer on the back full of your favourite Morrison's foodstuffs. The amount of energy needed to push that vehicle forward on its trip from the warehouse in Kent. To a store in, say, Newcastle is quite large. In fact, it's measured in kilowatt hours per mile. Famously Elon Musk's Tesla semi one of the first fully electric artics to be launched and which is currently in service with Frito Lay/ Pepsi Cola in the US will need two kilowatt hours of energy to move a vehicle one mile along the road. On average, my ID.3 will do eight to 10 miles on that same two kilowatt hours of energy. However, data coming out from the US indicate that the Tesla semi trucks are performing as well as expected, with one in particular, transporting cans from the Pepsi range, drove 1500 miles over two days. The stats for this are available online, and it appears that the vehicle stopped after 12 hours for a three hour charge, which tops it up to 100% from around 20% state of charge. It also did a couple of shorter stops to extend the range slightly. In a continuous run it covered around 400 miles on the little over 80% of the battery. Now given the huge payload it was carrying, that's not too shabby. What this shows, however, is it for any appreciable distance in an electric truck, you'll need huge batteries. If you've got a truck that does a specific route most days or have the ability to stop fairly regularly, you're going to be able to handle batteries with good charge speed. So what's out there at the moment? Well,"
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