We figured out a system for that in 1881 - electrified railways!

Of course it requires massive capital investment, a modal shift for the last mile, and it's somewhat inflexible.

Trains travel on semi level grades -not steep. Trucks on the other hand do, even if only counting interstates. Having a large tonnage truck going up hill lose power would not be fun. Maybe they can make them more reliable than MUNIs implementation.

On the flip side, when semi drivers get regenerative braking on the downhill and the far superior torque on the way up, you'll pry EV-semis only from their cold dead hands.

I still don't see why PHEVs aren't a thing in Semis so you can get regen braking, torque, efficiency, and range, but what do I know.

Edison Motors is making it a thing.

I remember watching a video 3 years ago by Tom Scott about trucks with overhed power like trains have. https://youtu.be/_3P_S7pL7Yg

If you're driving 600 miles in 10 hours without a 30 minute break you should have your license taken away. And 30 minutes is all you need for enough of a charge top-up on a 400 mile battery.

Thankfully the that doesn’t describe the majority of non-commercial, or even commercial, requirements.

“Drivers must take a 30-minute break after driving for 8 cumulative hours”

We already have laws.

Ideally a lot of the long-haul freight could be handled by rail, but another option for trucks is to have electrified highways. There are some projects in Sweden (one of which uses power rails embedded in slots in the road surface) and Germany (which uses overhead lines).

The slots-in-the-road approach is a bit more expensive, but it can be used by cars and trucks, whereas the overhead lines are just for trucks.

This is just a question of energy density, cost, and how much weight/cost you are willing to add to the truck.

We'll hit that point soon enough (if we haven't already with some nice truck that hasn't crossed my newsfeed). In the meantime, there's lots of shorter haul trucking routes, and routes with access to fast chargers half way (300 mile electric semis definitely exist), to convert.

Janus has some 900 mile configurations.

https://www.januselectric.com.au/

Why do they look like that? There shouldn't even be an engine under that huge-ass hood. Cab-Over makes way more sense, including for visibility.

They're old diesel trucks that have been converted.

Oh sorry I seem to have missed that, thanks.

I think they are called freight trains.

Freight trains are mostly diesel, to be fair.

Electric trains are pretty common in some parts of the world, it's just that the US has never bothered with it. And to be fair, diesel trains are already very energy efficient. I believe trains haul about as much cargo around as trucks do in the US on a daily basis, but the amount of fuel they consume is like a rounding error in comparison to trucks.

I think electrifying the trains is still worth doing, but if we want to reduce CO2 emissions and dependence on fossil fuels, it's not as important as getting those diesel-powered trucks off the road somehow.

That's the configuration that Edison Motors is going for, for their semi trucks. Electric drive motors with a diesel generator.

https://www.edisonmotors.ca/

I think the current direction is to use hot swappable batteries and I think these have 600km range

Nobody drives 600 miles in one go.

Trucks driven by team drivers do. They're used when the load needs to get there fast.

https://ntslogistics.com/glossary/team-driver-transport/

A few do. The law requires a break only after 8 hours of driving. With a bottle to pee in and snacks to eat some will do that. Most will take breaks ever hour or two (any who talk to thair doctor will) but those are stop, pee, and get back on the road. They are paid by the mile and long breaks cost money. Team divers only stop for a few hours total per day.

> They are paid by the mile

That's why electric truck will save them $250k per year in diesel.

but it will cost the drivers 10k per year - most drivers work for someone else and so won't see a penny of that 250k

Bladder innovations... an untapped market

I think Coke and Pepsi may already have that market tapped.

Range is meaningless, charging speed is everything.

According to Bjorn's testing - efficiency trumps all of the above.

Who is that? I am not sure why you would assume everyone knows who that is?

Efficiency certainly isn't unimportant but fast charging can overcome it.

I would also argue that EVs can't succeed unless fast charging overcomes efficiency. For EVs to succeed and overtake ICE vehicles they need to work for vehicles that are inherently inefficient, such as minivans, 3-row family SUVs, trucks, and commercial vans.

This is especially true since large vehicles are often the most profitable in the US.

One of the biggest EV testers out there. If you know EVs you know him.

All three are important and sure you can somewhat brute-force either aspect, but ultra fast charging stations are not as prevalent as you think it is. Most stations are still 50kW, but there are few 150kW. 250kW and more are still super rare.

I'm sorry but if you provide zero links and minimal context you can't assume people know who you're talking about by first name alone especially when it's a YouTuber with under 350,000 followers.

And again efficiency is important but EVs won't succeed unless they can include inefficient vehicles that are a necessity or a strong preference for many buyers, which is why 250kW+ charging stations are important if the US is ever going to adopt EVs as a full ICE replacement.

If I need a truck with an 8 foot bed and a body-on-frame vehicle to carry building supplies to my commercial property that I own across state lines and it currently gets 20mpg using the most advanced ICE technology on the market, I'm going to need 250kW+ chargers available if I'm ever going to replace that vehicle with an EV. Doubly so if I need to tow a trailer.

Just returning to this thread to point out how BYD is showing off 1000kW charging.

I'd bet $10 that China is well-covered with 1000kW charging within 10 years.

I accept your bet. What does “well-covered” mean?