The limited capacity of the electricity network for charging infrastructure is blocking the switch to battery-electric trucks. The electrification of lorries is barely getting started, even though that is one of the goals in the Climate Agreement. By 2030, the planned annual power demand of all electric trucks and commercial vehicles is equal to almost 1 million households. To remove this bottleneck, the RAI Association and Transport and Logistics Netherlands (TLN) are arguing for a 'power guarantee'. The cabinet must therefore fully commit to expanding and strengthening the charging network for heavy and light battery-electric commercial vehicles.
By 2050, road transport in Europe must be CO2-neutral. It has therefore been agreed in the 2019 Climate Agreement that transport by lorries and delivery vans in the larger cities will be zero-emissions from 2030 onwards. In addition, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management has an ambition that by 2030 at least 30% of all new lorries will be zero-emissions. For 2040, that ambition is even 100%.
At the end of 2021, however, the total Dutch truck fleet had only 214 electric trucks out of a total of more than 157.000. In 2021, 67 electric trucks were added. To achieve the 2030 target, the number of new trucks sold must grow to 8 to 4.000 electric trucks per year over the next 5.000 years. “A goal that is far from being achieved with current developments,” say the RAI Association and TLN.
High costs for entrepreneurs
Transporters clearly recognize the importance of emission-free transport, but are still very reluctant to invest for various reasons. First of all, there is currently a lack of a realistic revenue model. A battery-electric truck is quickly three times as expensive as a diesel truck and has a much smaller range. This has to load more often and therefore has a different usability. As a result, it is not yet possible to compete with battery-electric trucks. The expectation is that the price of a zero-emission truck will fall in the coming years, the supply and the range will increase further and ultimately develop a situation that is more in line with the market.
Network uncertainty
In addition, it is clear that the existing electricity grid will become the largest limiting factor for the use of electric trucks. A truck that cannot be used optimally due to a lack of power poses a major risk for a transport company. That uncertainty grows as the transport company purchases more electric vehicles.
While the demand for electricity by companies and households is constantly increasing, a substantial part of the Netherlands is now faced with major shortages of grid capacity. Without large-scale catching up, the net will fall further and further behind. In the worst case this leads to current infarcts. The power demand for road transport will increase astronomically in the coming years due to the use of zero-emission trucks. In 2030, the expected power demand of all electric trucks and vans is equal to the consumption of almost 1 million households. In 2050, if all road transport is emission-free, that consumption will be equivalent to approximately 4.5 million households.
Power guarantee
The current electricity grid is completely insufficient to meet this future electricity demand. There are already regions where entrepreneurs will not be able to build charging infrastructure in the coming years due to a lack of grid capacity. For them, this therefore blocks the scaling up of electric trucks. TLN and RAI Association call on the cabinet to come up with a 'power guarantee for logistics'. A concrete plan of approach that aligns the network capacity with the power requirement resulting from the current ambitions for the electrification of transport and logistics. This concerns not only city logistics in the period up to 2030, but also the complete electrification that follows. Extra money must also be earmarked for upgrading, greening, streamlining permit procedures and relieving the burden on the electricity network by focusing much more on other promising (zero-emission) technologies. This creates a power grid that is prepared for the future, so that entrepreneurs can invest with confidence in electric trucks and delivery vans. RAI Association.
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