WASHINGTON, April 23,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Transportation
Research Institute (ATRI) today released a new report that analyzes
the benefits of employing renewable diesel (RD) as an alternative
to battery electric vehicle (BEV) trucks.
This analysis is a follow-up to findings from past ATRI research
on the topics of zero-emission vehicles and electric infrastructure
challenges. In those past reports, ATRI utilized the U.S.
Department of Energy's GREET Model to confirm renewable diesel as a
promising solution for lowering the trucking industry's
CO2 emissions.
While both RD and BEV pathways have implementation costs, the
report concludes that relying on BEV to decrease CO2
emissions is nearly six times more expensive than using
RD.
In the report, RD and BEV pathways are evaluated on three
criteria:
- Environmental Benefits
- Operational Capabilities
- Financial Viability
It was confirmed that when trucks using RD today are converted
to BEV, there is a significant negative environmental impact.
Additionally, the report highlights operational benefits for
trucking when using RD as an alternative, as well as significant
infrastructure and new vehicle cost savings.
"My company quickly and successfully transitioned to renewable
diesel in April of last year. ATRI's research offers concrete
evidence that this move is better for the environment and easier to
achieve than other low-carbon options," said Andy Owens, CEO and Manager of A&M
Transport of Glendale,
Oregon.
Overall, ATRI estimated that a transition to BEV for long-haul
trucking will cost over $1 trillion
in electric infrastructure and vehicle purchase costs over 15
years. However, to achieve similar CO2 benefits with RD,
ATRI estimates a price tag of $203
billion, a significant cost savings for achieving the same
environmental benefits. Since RD is considerably more scalable
than BEV and can be deployed immediately in trucks without
modifications, it is likely that CO2 benefits using RD
can be achieved on a much shorter timeline than with a BEV
transition.
A copy of the full report is available through ATRI's website
here.
ATRI is the trucking industry's 501c3 not-for-profit research
organization. It is engaged in critical research relating to
freight transportation's essential role in maintaining a safe,
secure, and efficient transportation system.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-atri-research-evaluates-renewable-diesel-as-an-alternative-pathway-to-decarbonization-302124882.html
SOURCE American Transportation Research Institute