Electrical, Autonomous Vehicles Maintain Promise, Executives Say
From left: NACFE’s Mike Roeth, Daimler’s Joanna Buttler, J.B. Hunt’s Craig Harper and Kodiak Robotics’ James Reed focus on rising applied sciences within the freight transportation business. (Seth Clevenger/Transport Matters)
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LAS VEGAS — Autonomous and electric-powered vans maintain nice potential to enhance security and effectivity within the freight transportation sector, however it would take time for these rising applied sciences to beat varied market challenges and obtain widespread commercialization, business executives mentioned.
Panelists representing a truck producer, an autonomous truck developer and a motor provider shared their views on the trail to marketplace for these rising business car applied sciences throughout a Feb. 1 session on the Manifest provide chain know-how convention.
One present problem for motor carriers excited about electrification is solely buying the gear, mentioned Craig Harper, chief sustainability officer and govt vice chairman at J.B. Hunt Transport Providers Inc.
“What we’re anxious to do is to check the autos as quickly as we will and see how they’re going to carry out and the place that potential payback could possibly be, as a result of all of those options have gotten to be commercially viable,” he mentioned. “We will all have the best intentions and all the very best wishes, but when the corporate shouldn’t be sustainable [financially] … then you definately received’t do anyone any good.”
Closing out one other day at #Manifest2023 with a dialogue on bringing autonomous and electrical vans to market with @NACFE_Freight, @DaimlerTruckNA, @jbhunt360 and @KodiakRobotics. pic.twitter.com/hq13aC8YnV
— Seth Clevenger (@SethClevenger) February 1, 2023
He mentioned J.B. Hunt ordered some electrical vans way back to 2017 that the corporate nonetheless hasn’t acquired. The intermodal and trucking firm additionally has encountered issue organising car charging.
Harper contrasted the shortage of charging infrastructure for electrical vans with the considerable current diesel fueling community established over the previous half century.
“How are we going to duplicate that within the EV area in a brief time period?” he requested. “That’s an actual problem.”
Harper predicted, nevertheless, that the fee and high quality of electrical vans will enhance quickly, not not like flat-screen televisions that when commanded a hefty premium earlier than experiencing large worth drops as gross sales elevated.
“I believe we’ll see one thing like that within the EV area,” he mentioned. “The price of the batteries will come down, the vary will enhance and the load penalty won’t be as nice.”
On the autonomous car entrance, Harper mentioned he has been excited concerning the prospect of autonomous trucking since 2016, when the subject was nonetheless comparatively new for a lot of the trucking business.
“I’ve been very inspired by what I’ve see by way of the years, and it’s very thrilling occasions,” he mentioned. “I believe there will likely be a time when you will notice autonomous vans transfer sure forms of freight on particular lanes.”
Host Seth Clevenger speaks with autonomous car pioneer Don Burnette concerning the execs and cons of driverless vehicles and vans. Hear this system above and at RoadSigns.TTNews.com.
Third of a three-part collection on autonomous autos. Hear Half I right here, and Half II right here.
J.B. Hunt, primarily based in Lowell, Ark., ranks No. 4 on the Transport Matters Prime 100 checklist of the most important for-hire carriers in North America.
Very similar to the introduction of battery-electric vans, the rollout of autonomous driving know-how will likely be a gradual course of, mentioned James Reed, chief working officer for autonomous truck developer Kodiak Robotics.
“There’s not going to be a lightweight change that flips the place immediately you’ll get up within the morning and each truck is autonomous,” he mentioned.
Though it would take time for autonomous vans to succeed in the market in important numbers, Reed mentioned business leaders ought to not less than be studying about this know-how now.
“I don’t assume individuals have to be prepared right now,” he mentioned. “I believe they have to be contemplative of the longer term. I believe they should discover the options which are on the market.”
Reed, who just lately joined Kodiak after departing as CEO of USA Truck Inc., mirrored on his method to rising applied sciences whereas main the Van Buren, Ark.-based truckload provider.
“I noticed because the CEO of a trucking firm that there received’t be one ubiquitous resolution, whether or not it’s EV or gasoline cells and even autonomy,” he mentioned. “I began pondering extra a few portfolio method to fixing the issues that face all people.”
Whereas zero-emission autos have a tendency to come back up first in discussions about freight sustainability, autonomous driving can also help a cleaner and extra environment friendly transportation system, mentioned Joanna Buttler, head of Daimler Truck’s international autonomous know-how group.
To deliver autonomous vans to market, Daimler has partnered with two builders of automated driving know-how — its impartial subsidiary Torc Robotics and autonomous car agency Waymo. Each of these builders have been working self-driving vans on public roads with a security driver behind the steering wheel.
Daimler additionally has developed an autonomous car platform primarily based on its Freightliner Cascadia mannequin that includes redundant security programs to function a backup within the occasion of a vital system failure within the absence of a human driver.
Whereas Daimler has designed its autonomous-ready Cascadia with a diesel powertrain, Buttler mentioned the event of autonomous driving and electrical vans might intersect sooner or later.
The truck maker’s method to autonomy will likely be “propulsion agnostic,” Buttler mentioned, “so we will apply the best propulsion know-how for the best use case.”
At this time, Daimler and its AV companions are designing autonomous vans to move freight on longhaul interstate routes in hub-to-hub operations — a use case that doesn’t pair nicely with the restricted car vary of right now’s battery-electric know-how.
Along with battery-electric and autonomous vans, panel moderator Mike Roeth talked about the event of extra superior diesel and pure fuel vans, renewable fuels, hydrogen-powered vans and linked car know-how.
“These are thrilling occasions in freight motion and vans,” mentioned Roeth, who’s govt director on the North American Council for Freight Effectivity.
As producers and know-how firms proceed to make progress on electrical and autonomous truck improvement, J.B. Hunt’s Harper inspired business leaders to expertise applied sciences for themselves.
“Exit and get into one in every of these autos and see it firsthand,” he mentioned. “I believe you’ll be amazed at this know-how.”
