Someone should invent a way to put diesel directly into truck engines.
California drayage trucking companies (which operate in and around ports) are running up against a state-mandated deadline of January 1, 2024, after which any new trucks sold in the state must be zero-emissions. With current technology, that means electric, and the state isn’t ready for more electric trucks.
On July 16, the Wall Street Journal reported that there are fewer than 700 electric-truck chargers at depots in California right now. The state projects it will need 157,000 by 2030.
The deadline isn’t moving, and trucking companies have started purchasing electric trucks to comply with the regulations. “As automakers deliver new electric trucks to fleet customers, parking lots that once needed enough power for a few floodlights now might need to draw as much power as a skyscraper,” the Journal says.
Building that kind of infrastructure takes years. In the meantime, temporary solutions include electric-vehicle chargers powered by diesel or natural gas.
The Journal reports:
[Chief executive Steve] Powell said Southern California Edison has come across some fleets powering chargers using diesel generators—the fuel regulators are trying to avoid—so that new EV trucks don’t sit unused.
“The idea is that you’re decarbonizing and helping with local air pollution,” Powell said. “The diesel generators certainly aren’t doing that.”
Diesel is an excellent source of power, though. It has high energy density and burns efficiently. Someone should invent a way to put it directly into truck engines.