Submitted by darth_nadoma t3_z43fnt in Futurology
zenithtreader t1_ixpot1o wrote
Reply to comment by PR7ME in Renault's heavy electric trucks are now available to order by darth_nadoma
Err no. Wholesale electricity only costs a fraction of wholesale diesel or gas right now for the same mileages. Further more electrical drivetrains having much less moving parts and therefore require much less maintenance as well. And these two things will cost multiple trucks worth of money over its operating lifetime.
PR7ME t1_ixps0tw wrote
Current prices in Europe, no.
Electricity is more expensive. When we've seem gas prices which are the equipment of $500/barrel of oil, I highly doubt it'll be cheaper to run.
Secondly charging at 43kW/250kW is very expensive, becuase the cost of infrastructure is expensive and needs to be paid off too. The unit price of electricity is only one factor.
Don't get me wrong, these trucks will sell, but not on pure business and economic basis.
I'm no EV hater, I have had one for years, I just like to look at the numbers as well.
anschutz_shooter t1_ixq0x2i wrote
> Secondly charging at 43kW/250kW is very expensive, becuase the cost of infrastructure is expensive and needs to be paid off too. The unit price of electricity is only one factor. > > Don't get me wrong, these trucks will sell, but not on pure business and economic basis.
In reality though, almost nobody needs 250kW charging.
The average HGV will spend 9+hours charging overnight. It'll trundle from a warehouse to a supermarket (and back), possibly trickle-charging at both ends. It'll do maybe 4-5 round trips in the day, all of which could be covered by a single charge, but it'll probably get a bit of topping-up whilst material is unloaded.
There will be a handful of people doing London-Scotland trips who need a quick charge halfway, but that's not the duty-cycle most trucks work on.
It may also do some "light" journeys. For instance trailers to the Isle of Man generally get dropped off at Heysham, loaded by port tractors and forwarded by a local haulier on the island. So a Tesco tractor unit will take a loaded trailer to Heysham and either return to the warehouse unladen, or with an empty trailer - which will not tax the range too much.
Obviously they'll be a no-brainer for any sort of urban delivery where ULEZ or Congestion charging exists.
And we're assuming that diesel costs don't rise further/get taxed, or that electricity doesn't come down significantly (probably will, especially if they change how the wholesale market works, which they need to and will happen eventually).
PR7ME t1_ixq2lqp wrote
Out of curiosity, what do you think a single 43kW goes for?
And how many do you think a single depot would need?
Lastly what's the kWh rate you expect businesses to be paying overnight?
Surur t1_ixpx6tx wrote
> When we've seem gas prices which are the equipment of $500/barrel of oil, I highly doubt it'll be cheaper to run.
Solar + batteries provide a natural price cap.
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