Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Climate change: Electric trucks 'can compete with diesel ones'
Trying to be more environmentally conscious, more people are buying electric cars as their prices become more competitive with gasoline-powered vehicles and more charging points are being built. Also, as reported in Vol.3286 on April 10, there already are e-buses transporting passengers in major cities in China. Then, what about heavy freight trucks, which look like emitting a lot of black smog every time the driver pushes the gas pedal? In fact, as much as 7% of global carbon emissions come from heavy freight trucks, which are powered by diesel. You may think it would require a huge battery to power a heavy truck loaded with a container or lumber. But some researchers think it’s not really the size of the battery but how fast an e-truck is charged. Also important is the accessibility of charging points. Even for an autonomous driving truck, the driver needs to take a rest from time to time. So, if quick chargers are placed in every few hour's distances, the battery may not have to be as big as you might think. Of course, there still are financial barriers like the vehicle price and the charging cost, but they could be lowered by government incentives and tax rates on diesel.
When we work on environmental problems, we seem to need to put a different hat on. And ships and airplanes are next on the line. We are working on Re-Industrial Revolution.
Enjoy reading the article and think about the time when no more fossil fuel is burned on the road.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56678669
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