National Grid to build DOE-funded EV truck roadmap

National Grid announced the kickoff of a study to support the electrification of commercial fleets, mapping out truck charging needs across nearly 3,000 miles of major highways in the U.S. Northeast.

Funded by a $1.2 million grant awarded by the US Department of Energy (DOE), the two-year effort to build a Northeast Freight Corridors Charging Plan will focus on highways with heavy trucking traffic, including I-95 and I-90, and areas with commercial activity, like the Port of New York and New Jersey.

The study led by National Grid will develop 20-year demand forecasts for more than 100 sites across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and all New England states.

This analysis could guide investment and policy decisions while providing a path for states, utilities, businesses and local communities to plan and build a charging network that supports large-scale electrification of the largest emitting sector of the Northeast’s economy, National Grid said.

The Northeast Freight Corridors Charging Plan will expand upon National Grid’s Electric Highways Study released in 2022, which found that large highway fast-charging sites could require more power than a small town by 2045.

As more electric trucks enter roadways, grid and charging infrastructure must keep pace. Larger electric vehicles require frequent recharging on long haul routes, but charging options for electric trucks remain limited, with most charging stations only equipped to serve smaller passenger vehicles.

Electric truck sales are still low in all regions except China, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). In 2022, 54,000 new electric buses and an estimated 52,000 electric medium- and heavy-duty trucks were sold in China, 80% and 85% of global sales, respectively.

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However, the US could soon see a boom in medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks on the road. Major US manufacturers have made commitments to mass-produce zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2030, and further adoption could be spurred by state-level legislation like California’s Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT), federal legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and the the US commitment to join the
Global Commercial Drive to Zero, which is aimed at 100% ZEV sales by 2040, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation.

“Readying our grid infrastructure for electric trucks will require careful planning and close collaboration across state lines,” said Bart Franey, National Grid’s Vice President of Clean Energy Development in New York.

“This DOE grant award brings the right stakeholders into the same room to chart a clear course for electric truck charging across the Northeast. This roadmap will inform efforts by states, utilities, communities, and industry leaders to create a seamless truck charging network across the region.”

A coordinated effort

National Grid is leading this study effort in partnership with RMI, the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), Clean Communities of Central New York, and DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

National Grid will also closely coordinate with CALSTART, the recipient of a similar DOE grant, to map out truck charging needs south of National Grid’s study area. The two studies are set to cover a combined 3,700 miles of highways and freight corridors, including 1,300 miles of I-95 from Georgia all the way to the Canadian border – plotting out what could be one of the longest truck charging corridors in the country.

When integrated together, this broader analysis will span 15 states, supporting more than 300 million tons of freight moving through ports on the East Coast each year, as well as several of the largest cities in the US.

Originally published on Power Grid by Sean Wolfe.