Plugging Ports into the Electric Truck Revolution
Since the great empires started their voyages many centuries ago, transportation on water has become integral in our globalized society. Most of the distribution of goods efficiently happens through maritime transportation and ports, both relying on engines and fuels. However, its efficiency comes at a cost: pollution of sound and greenhouse gases (GHG) that cause health problems, inflicting climate injustice on disadvantaged communities near the ports, which brought about the shift toward zero carbon emissions. In the center of this green movement is DCFC (direct current fast charging) in port electrification.
The Need for Port Electrification
The GHGs from cargo movements account for 2-3% of global carbon emissions, 5-10% for SOx emissions, and 17-31% for NOx emissions. Not stopping at ships, today’s sources of maritime trade’s carbon footprint extends to the drayage trucks, which travel short intra-port distances as they shuttle containers from docks to distribution centers. At the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, 13,000 diesel drayage trucks emit pollutants contributing to toxic air quality and harming adjacent communities.
Starting on Land: One Step to Electrify Ports
Electrifying these large drayage trucks will help cut GHG emissions to meet the target emissions set by national and regional port electrification goals. The U.S. Joint Office of Energy and Transportation issued a goal to prioritize and sequence the development of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicle (MHDV) infrastructure in key freight hubs and corridors.
Converting diesel-fueled MHDVs to electric drayage truck fleets would prove advantageous to everyone. Yet, this cannot come true without charging infrastructures that power the drayage e-trucks. The ports would need DCFC stations within the terminal to optimize efficiency. Hence, e-trucks and DCFC have an immense opportunity in ports to:
Decarbonize supply chains – helping businesses and nations progress toward a net-zero emission, as most trades happen within and from the port.
Economically benefit – increase employment and goods transportation output with lower operating costs than the fuel stations for diesel cars.
Help locals – raise the quality of life up by reducing healthcare, along with diesel exhaust.
No Stopping Now in Electrification
Ports face all-day demands; cargo ships arrive at various hours, and trucks queue around the clock. For electrification to work, chargers must be able to supply without failure, non-stop, with no downtime.
This is where reliability separates goal from reality. A single charger failure would delay complex processes in ports. ViveEV’s DCFC stations, with 99.8% uptime and industry-low failure rates, are engineered for this mission. viveEV envisions the transition from diesel to electric with efficient and reliable DCFC that helps keep global trade online.
For more information on how viveEV can reliably work with you, visit https://www.viveev.com.