Heavy-duty truck electrification and the impacts of depot charging on electricity distribution systems

Increasing attention is being paid to the electrification of trucks, in particular for short-haul operations. Borlaug et al. simulate depot charging load profiles based on real-world operating schedules to explore future charging requirements and assess the likely distribution substation upgrades needed to support them. Major technological advancements and recent policy support are improving the outlook for heavy-duty truck electrification in the United States. In particular, short-haul operations (<= 200 miles (<= 322 km)) are prevalent and early candidates for plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) given their short, predictable routes and return-to-base applications, which allows vehicles to recharge when off shift at their depots. Although previous studies investigated the impacts of added electrical loads on distribution systems, which included light-duty EVs, the implications for heavy-duty EV charging are underexplored. Here we summarize the causes, costs and lead times of distribution system upgrades anticipated for depot charging. We also developed synthetic depot charging load profiles for heavy-duty trucks from real-world operating schedules, and found that charging requirements are met at common light-duty EV charging rates (<= 100 kW per vehicle). Finally, we applied depot charging load profiles to 36 distribution real-world substations, which showed that most can accommodate high levels of heavy-duty EV charging without upgrades.

Automated summary

There is increasing focus on truck electrification, especially for short-haul operations. Technological advancements and policy support are improving the outlook for heavy-duty truck electrification in the United States. Short-haul operations are early candidates for plug-in electric vehicles.