Ambitious charging, refueling heavy truck network plan unveiled by Biden administration

The Biden administration just released its plan to establish a charging and refueling infrastructure network for zero-emission commercial trucks. It’s an ambitious initiative that seeks to maximize the impact of charging infrastructure investment by guiding development toward high-volume-priority corridors and existing freight hubs.

The question, as always, is who will pay for it. Right now, that is up in the air.

Called the “National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy,” the idea was developed by the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in collaboration with the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

It was drafted to meet growing market demands by what it calls “targeting public investment to amplify private sector momentum,” focus utility and regulatory energy planning, align industry activity and improve air quality in local communities heavily impacted by diesel emissions.

Basically, it is the federal government’s guidebook for the planned deployment of medium- and heavy-duty vehicle electric charging and hydrogen fueling infrastructure from 2024 to 2040.

Some government funding for zero-emission infrastructure is available through the $1 trillion infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act. But truckers doubt that will be sufficient and are wary about added taxes or costs association with electrification of trucks.

That zero-emission strategy was built around public investment to amplify private sector momentum, focusing on utility and regulatory energy planning, aligning industry activity and improving air quality in local communities affected by diesel emissions, the Energy Department said.

“For over a century, petroleum-fueled freight has transported vital food and resources to American families but at the same time, these vehicles have also contributed to lower public health, especially in densely populated communities,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.

“[The plan] addresses this issue head-on with innovative strategies to transform freight so it not only supports American families and businesses, but also protects the environment for future generations,” she added.

The strategy is based on a focused buildout around freight and trucking return-to-base depot infrastructure, regional hub-to-hub corridors and national network “nodes.”

Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt noted that medium- and heavy-duty trucks in the current freight network contribute approximately 23% of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. transportation sector.

Commercial trucks represent roughly 10% of all vehicles on the road, yet 75% of heavy truck traffic travel on just 4% of our nation’s roads. President Joe Biden’s National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi said adding “investments in zero-emission infrastructure on those high-traffic roads and the hubs they connect will rapidly transform freight transport.”

Trucking executives are wary of excessive mandates from Washington and states (California’s ambitious strategies are often cited) before technology is ready nationwide.

Asked recently what the most nagging regulation is, Werner Chairman and CEO Derek Leathers replied, “The avalanche of mandates for electrification of heavy duty trucking.”

Leathers said he wanted the government “to recognize taking the internal combustion engine off roadways by 2040 or 2045 could have ramifications on fragile supply chains, not to mention the electric grid.”

The government’s strategy is to evaluate critical deployment factors that target favorable investment areas along the National Highway Freight Network4 (NHFN) and within supporting freight ecosystems. The strategy moves through four progressive phases to promote zero-emission truck adoption from 2024 to 2027, 2027 to 2030, 2030 to 2035, and 2035 to 2040.

David Fialkov, executive vice president of government affairs for NATSO and SIGMA – the trade associations representing truck stops, travel plazas and fuel marketers – applauded the Biden administration for “recognizing the critical link between how freight moves today and the efficient build out of a nationwide network of charging stations for medium and heavy-duty trucks. For this to work, it needs to impose minimal disruption on how businesses operate today,” he said. “This plan recognizes that.”

The White House says the number of publicly available EV chargers nationwide has increased by more than 80% to more than 173,000 since 2020. But widespread rollout has been elusive as traditional refueling stops have been hesitant to heap cash until a more robust infrastructure is developed.

“Many challenges exist to electrifying commercial trucks, including electricity generation and access as well as the need for fuel retailers to generate a return on investment,” Fialkov said. “Fuel retailers are at the forefront of investments in new refueling technologies and their requisite infrastructure.

“We have long held that President Biden's goal of establishing a nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations for all vehicle classes is best achieved by harnessing the existing nationwide network of refueling locations. Directing states to adopt a phased approach that prioritizes investments along key freight corridors can harness the existing nationwide network of refueling locations along the Interstate Highway System and encourage investment in emerging refueling technology,” Fialkov added.

Deployment factors baked into the plan include corridor segment usage by freight volume; port usage by annual freight tonnage; projected ZE-MHDV volumes; disproportionate environmental and air quality burden from MHDV transportation and non-attainment for criteria air pollutants; states with ZEV deployment-enabling policies and “on the ground” planning through DOE’s commercial ZEV corridor planning grants.

Administration officials say providing ubiquitous and convenient access to electric vehicle or EV charging and hydrogen refueling along the nation’s freight corridors and at intermodal freight facilities and high-usage ports is key to achieving electric conversion. The U.S. goals are to get at least 30 percent medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sales to be zero-emission by 2030 and 100 percent by 2040, USDOE noted.

To attain that goal, the new zero-emission strategy seeks to align public policy and investments by prioritizing, sequencing, and accelerating infrastructure along the National Highway Freight Network in four phases:

• Establish priority hubs based on freight volumes (2024-2027);
• Connect hubs along critical freight corridors (2027-2030);
• Expand corridor connections initiating network development (2030-2035); and
•  Achieve national network by linking regional corridors for ubiquitous access (2035-2040).