Bipartisan Policy Center, SAFE and the Electrification Coalition Release “Commercial Goods Transport: Widening the Road to Electrification” White Paper
Washington, DC – A new joint report from the Bipartisan Policy Center, SAFE, and the Electrification Coalition (EC) makes the case that medium- and heavy-duty (MHD) commercial vehicle electrification should be a key policy priority for the transportation sector as it embarks on its most important shift since the invention of the internal combustion engine itself: the transition from a gasoline and diesel past to an electric future.
The report, Commercial Goods Transport: Widening the Road to Electrification, emphasizes how targeted policies to support electrification in the transportation of commercial goods will benefit the economic and national security of the United States and help drive the transition to low-carbon economy. Too often, this transformation is discussed only in terms of personal mobility and passenger vehicles. The MHD trucks on our nation’s roadways are underappreciated as a critical component of the national transportation network and policies to accelerate the transition to MHD electric vehicles should be a national priority.
“Electrifying commercial goods transport can achieve outsized energy, economic, and environmental benefits and help the entire EV sector achieve scale more quickly,” said Sasha Mackler, director of BPC’s Energy Project. “This is a rare opportunity to meet economic and emissions goals together through investment in a single sector.”
Congress has an opportunity to put the United States in the lead by creating a pathway for the expedited electrification of commercial goods transport. By providing the incentives necessary to accelerate demand for electrified trucks, the United States can more quickly and effectively achieve the goals of creating more automotive and truck industry jobs, competing with other nations on a global scale, building out domestic supply chains while meaningfully reducing emissions. The 2020s will be a crucial decade for electric vehicle (EV) technology and supply chain maturation, and any strategy should include a focus on the movement of goods, from freight to last-mile delivery vehicles.
“Electrifying our nation’s vehicle fleet promises significant economic and national security benefits, and if made in the U.S. would bring accompanying industry, prosperity, and jobs. By targeting a sector that accounts for an outsized—and rising—proportion of U.S. fuel consumption, freight electrification offers a compelling route to achieving this goal and stimulating investment across the entire minerals-to-markets EV supply chain,” said Robbie Diamond, president and CEO of SAFE.
“Commercial goods transport is ready for electrification and the technology is finally ready to meet the operational needs, but we need to accelerate manufacturing in the United States. As members of Congress continue to negotiate federal infrastructure investment programs, we have outlined concrete policy actions that will ensure the nation’s transportation infrastructure investments will support the electrification of commercial goods transportation,” said Ben Prochazka, executive director of the EC.
Read the report, Commercial Goods Transport: Widening the Road to Electrification.