WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has chosen 12,000 miles of freight-heavy interstates and the country’s largest container ports to start a 16-year plan to deploy battery-charging and hydrogen-refueling stations for electric trucks.
The four-phase National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy, unveiled Tuesday, initially targets local and regional “return-to-base” trucking operations, first- and last-mile delivery, and port drayage while step by step accommodating long-haul trucking.
A core objective of the strategy, detailed in a 300-page document developed by the U.S. departments of Energy and Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency, “is to fulfill freight truck and technology markets where they’re today, determine where they’re prone to develop next, and set an ambitious pathway that mobilizes actions to attain decarbonization,” in response to the Federal Highway Administration.
Along side the charging strategy, FHWA also announced on Tuesday that it has designated the agency’s National Highway Freight Network (NHFN), together with roadways in several states, because the National EV Freight Corridors network.
The national EV strategy and the corridors network align with the administration’s goal to advertise no less than 30% zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty truck sales by 2030 and 100% by 2040.
“Medium- and heavy-duty trucks in our current freight network contribute roughly 23% of greenhouse gas emissions within the U.S. transportation sector,” commented FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt. “These latest designations and strategy will help to grow our national EV charging network, encourage clean commerce throughout the freight community, and support President Biden’s goals of achieving net-zero emissions for the nation by 2050.”
The strategy goals to speed up adoption of battery-electric and fuel-cell electric trucks by focusing initially on freight hubs with a 100-mile transport radius and moving toward an entire network, in 4 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).
- Achieve full access to national network by linking regional corridors (2035-2040).
Phase 1 targets 12,000 miles of interstate (23% of the NHFN), including Interstates 5, 10, 25, 75, 80, 95, and the Texas Triangle including Interstates 10, 45 and 35.
Zero-emission truck hubs in Phase 1 also include 100-mile “freight ecosystems” centered around major container ports, including the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the Port Authority of Latest York and Latest Jersey, the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma, Washington, the Port of Miami, the Houston Port Authority, and the Port of Savannah, Georgia.
In Phase 2, “non-tractor-trailer truck (e.g., Class 4-6 straight delivery trucks) activity likely stays battery-EV-dominant, with early introduction of hydrogen fuel cell electric truck technology for longer-distance travel,” in response to the strategy. “Operations expand with increased regional goods distribution (e.g., port drayage) and initial deployments of long-haul transportation.”
In Phase 4, the strategy expands from intermodal hubs and port facilities to incorporate truck parking facilities “which is able to increasingly service [zero-emission trucks] across all use cases,” the strategy states.
“A completely integrated transportation energy system might be essential to supporting use cases across all vehicle classes and duty cycles, allowing for local, regional, and long-haul transportation of products and services.”
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