Road to zero: Research and industry perspectives on zero-emission commercial vehicles

Medium-and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs) comprise only a small fraction of vehi-cles on the road but disproportionately contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution from the transportation sector. Given the large variety of vehicle types-ranging from heavy-duty pickup trucks and box trucks to full-size buses and Class 8 tractor semi-trailers-and applications, multiple technologies offer opportunities to decarbonize MHDVs including battery-electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and sustainable liquid fuels. Here we provide an over-view of the status, opportunities, challenges, and uncertainties for these competing-and potentially complementary-technologies, including consider-ation of supporting infrastructure and prospects for future success. We find a bright outlook for zero-emission vehicles and discuss remaining barriers and uncertainties around fleet decisions and changes to vehicle operation, infrastruc-ture, manufacturing, and future fuel and technology trends that can be informed through analysis.

Automated summary

Medium-and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs) account for a small portion of vehicles on the road, but contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution in the transportation sector. There are multiple technologies, including battery-electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and sustainable liquid fuels, that can help decarbonize MHDVs. This overview examines the status, opportunities, challenges, and uncertainties of these technologies, considering supporting infrastructure and prospects for future success. Zero-emission vehicles show promise, but there are barriers and uncertainties related to fleet decisions, vehicle operation, infrastructure, manufacturing, and future fuel and technology trends that need to be addressed through analysis.