StratES – Scenarios for the electrification of road freight transport

Summary

The German Oeko-Institut has evaluated various drive technologies in road freight transport to identify their technical and economic potential in a project funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. The comparison shows that in future, battery electric trucks will offer advantages over trucks with a power supply from overhead lines or fuel cells; this applies even with conservative assumptions about technical conditions such as potential ranges and available charging options. According to the total cost calculation, fuel cell vehicles are far more expensive than BEV trucks due to the high level of uncertainty surrounding hydrogen prices. Overhead catenary trucks, however, are limited to routes that are equipped with overhead lines; this constitutes a barrier to fleet electrification.