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Unsolved as in several products on the market that you can buy that are class 8 trucks? It's a solved problem. Batteries are heavy but a few tonnes of battery o

Unsolved as in several products on the market that you can buy that are class 8 trucks? It's a solved problem. Batteries are heavy but a few tonnes of battery on a vehicle that is designed for 40 tonnes is not a problem. Battery cost is a much bigger problem for trucks. A mwh of battery would deliver awesome range. But most commercial trucks come with something closer to a quarter of that. I think the Tesla semi actually comes close to a mwh. But it's an outlier. The reason for this is cost, not weight.

alwayslikethis 4y ago
I think a much better solution is by electrifying highways, so the trucks don't have to carry too much battery (or can just use a much smaller amount of diesel) as they move. Usually the main limiting factor for truck range is the sheer weight of the batteries. The more weight you add, the less you can carry due to laws on maximum truck weights. Electrifying roads with overhead cables can be a more economical solution and does not rely on any non-existing technology.
- adrianN 4y ago
  If you spent the money to electrify roads, you might as well just build rails to lower friction. And perhaps chain multiple trucks together to reduce air resistance as save labor costs.
- Animats 4y ago
  It's working in Germany.[1] [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3P_S7pL7Yg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3P_S7pL7Yg
- jillesvangurp 4y ago
  Electrical trucks you can buy and drive right now. No reason to wait. Electrical highways (except for an expensive and impractical test range in Germany) don't exist and won't exist for many years to come. There's nothing economical about installing lots of infrastructure on tens of thousands of kilometers of highways (what about other roads?).
- elihu 4y ago
  Absolutely. Also, while overhead lines tend to be the cheapest method, there have been some interesting tests in Sweden with rails embedded in slots in the road surface. (Sort of like those toy slot cars that used to be popular about 30-40 years ago or so.) It's more expensive, but the main advantages are that it can be used more easily by a wider range of vehicles (not just trucks or cars with comically tall pantographs), and you don't have to look at overhead cables, which some people find objectionable. There are also some tests projects using induction charging, but that's super expensive and the amount of power you can usefully deliver is a lot lower than if you have a physical electrical connection. (I expect it to only be useful in a few limited cases. Maybe induction chargers installed at bus stops, for instance.) Anyways, I would love if electrified highways were to be a real thing. The amount of diesel that gets wasted every day pushing trucks around is staggering, and it'd be great to be able to buy an electric vehicle with 100 miles of range or so and feel comfortable making long cross-country road trips without ever even having to bother to stop and charge.
hinkley 4y ago
A few hundred miles in a freight vehicle is bullshit. Someone said build me a thing and none of the engineers had the courage to laugh in their faces and say no. The stores are full of bullshit products. Just because someone is selling it doesn’t mean it works. Some of these so called tractors only get 170 miles? Are you joking?

alwayslikethis 4y ago

I think a much better solution is by electrifying highways, so the trucks don't have to carry too much battery (or can just use a much smaller amount of diesel) as they move. Usually the main limiting factor for truck range is the sheer weight of the batteries. The more weight you add, the less you can carry due to laws on maximum truck weights. Electrifying roads with overhead cables can be a more economical solution and does not rely on any non-existing technology.

adrianN 4y ago
If you spent the money to electrify roads, you might as well just build rails to lower friction. And perhaps chain multiple trucks together to reduce air resistance as save labor costs.
Animats 4y ago
It's working in Germany.[1] [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3P_S7pL7Yg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3P_S7pL7Yg
jillesvangurp 4y ago
Electrical trucks you can buy and drive right now. No reason to wait. Electrical highways (except for an expensive and impractical test range in Germany) don't exist and won't exist for many years to come. There's nothing economical about installing lots of infrastructure on tens of thousands of kilometers of highways (what about other roads?).
elihu 4y ago
Absolutely. Also, while overhead lines tend to be the cheapest method, there have been some interesting tests in Sweden with rails embedded in slots in the road surface. (Sort of like those toy slot cars that used to be popular about 30-40 years ago or so.) It's more expensive, but the main advantages are that it can be used more easily by a wider range of vehicles (not just trucks or cars with comically tall pantographs), and you don't have to look at overhead cables, which some people find objectionable. There are also some tests projects using induction charging, but that's super expensive and the amount of power you can usefully deliver is a lot lower than if you have a physical electrical connection. (I expect it to only be useful in a few limited cases. Maybe induction chargers installed at bus stops, for instance.) Anyways, I would love if electrified highways were to be a real thing. The amount of diesel that gets wasted every day pushing trucks around is staggering, and it'd be great to be able to buy an electric vehicle with 100 miles of range or so and feel comfortable making long cross-country road trips without ever even having to bother to stop and charge.

hinkley 4y ago

A few hundred miles in a freight vehicle is bullshit. Someone said build me a thing and none of the engineers had the courage to laugh in their faces and say no. The stores are full of bullshit products. Just because someone is selling it doesn’t mean it works. Some of these so called tractors only get 170 miles? Are you joking?