Truck Electrification

Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles account for 20 percent of U.S. transportation fuel consumption despite being only 4 percent of vehicles. The document outlines how hybrid-electric, battery electric, and fuel cell technologies, along with external power systems and battery-powered auxiliary units, can reduce fuel costs and oil dependency.

• Hybrid-electric trucks, which combine internal combustion engines with electric motors and regenerative braking, can reduce fuel consumption by 20 to 35 percent based on a National Academy of Sciences review.
• Battery electric trucks currently offer a range of 50 to 100 miles per charge, making them particularly suitable for yard hostlers and urban delivery trucks with short, defined routes.
• Fuel cell electric trucks, which emit only water vapor, have a potential range of up to 400 miles and can save approximately 6,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually per vehicle.
• Non-propulsion electric technologies can significantly reduce idling; for example, battery-powered auxiliary power units for long-haul truck cabs can replace a practice that consumes up to 1,400 gallons of diesel per year.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2012). Truck Electrification. https://www.ucs.org/resources/truck-electrification

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Truck Electrification. 2012. https://www.ucs.org/resources/truck-electrification.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Truck Electrification |date=23 October 2012 |url=https://www.ucs.org/resources/truck-electrification |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2012truck, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Truck Electrification}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2012}, month = oct, url = {https://www.ucs.org/resources/truck-electrification}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }