Released May 16, 2024 | SUGAR LAND
en
Written by Paul Wiseman for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Are battery-electric vehicles (BEV) cleaner than internal combustion engines (ICE) that burn organically based diesel in heavy duty trucks? The answer depends on how much of the life cycle of the energy source and vehicle production is evaluated.
It is indeed a complex subject with lots of branches, but a recent American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) paper says renewable diesel and its kin may actually be significantly greener than BEVs, when considering the entire life cycle.
Because transportation is responsible for 29% of all U. S. greenhouse gases, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the largest single sector of such emissions, this is an important subject. And, says ATRI, trucking used 77.8% of all diesel in 2023. Solving the diesel issue alone would be significant.
Life Cycle Emissions of Petro Diesel, Renewable Diesel, and BEVs in Heavy Duty Trucks
For this comparison, ATRI considered the entire span of the production, operation, and disposal of both the vehicles and the fuels themselves. A class 8 truck is defined as one with a gross vehicle weight of 33,001+ pounds, referred to in this report as combination trucks.
The study took into account the carbon dioxide (CO2) absorbed by plant-based feedstocks for renewable diesel (RD), production processes, mining/disposal of lithium for BEV batteries, emissions (or lack thereof in the case of BEVs) during a truck's operation, and a long list of other emissions factors from creation to disposal.
Overall, ATRI's top conclusion was that the life cycle CO2 emitted by ICEs using RD "is approximately 50 percent lower than BEV CO2. RD feedstock choice may decrease this figure further."
Such a conclusion may be confusing because RD does emit greenhouse gases such as CO2 when burned as truck fuel. But ATRI noted that it's offset by the fact that "the organic materials used to make renewable diesel--such as soybean oil--remove carbon from the air when growing, and then release carbon when the organic material is processed, combusted or decomposed." Other, "second generation" sources include organic waste, agricultural waste and wood products.
RD is one of two types of non-petroleum diesel. The report focuses on RD instead of the other, biodiesel, because the latter is not chemically identical to the petroleum variety, and can only be used in mixtures of up to 20% biodiesel. On the other hand, RD is identical and can be mixed in any amounts, or used as a standalone option.
Problems with Proliferation
Both RD and BEVs have some supply chain and distribution challenges before they can significantly reduce CO2 in the U. S. In 2023, the U. S. consumed 36 billion gallons of diesel, with its 3.25 million registered combination trucks accounting for 28 billion of that. In comparison, that year the U. S. consumed just under 3 billion gallons of RD and slightly less than 2 billion gallons of biodiesel.
While the 2023 RD figure represents a 66% increase over the previous year and a whopping 500% since 2018, the combined amount of green diesel is still a small percentage of the total--and the ability to ramp up production will be limited by, among other things, how much farmland is available for fuel feedstock as opposed to food.
For BEVs also, the number of charging stations is growing, but Tesla Incorporated's (NASDAQ:TSLA) (Austin, Texas) announced layoffs in their vehicle charging division could halt that growth.
One advantage for ICEs using RD is that the vehicles themselves do not require modification to use the fuel. No changes in the vehicle supply chain would be required. For BEVs, production is increasing, but they are generally much more expensive to make than comparable ICE trucks. Plus, the greater battery storage required for BEVs reduces their payload space, potentially hampering their profitability on a per-trip basis.
Fuel Price?
Another variable is the comparative price of RD versus petro diesel. Because the great majority of green diesels are consumed in California due to its California Air Resources Board (CARB) are stricter than most on limiting emissions, the ATRI study quotes CARB statistics on comparative prices from 2017-2023. For much of that time RD hangs slightly under petro diesel in terms of price, but the differences are small, and the RD price fluctuations closely mirror those of its crude-based competitor.
In the long term, RD may pose more supply limitations than BEVs because there is only so much farmland that can be dedicated to fuel production. At some point, either price or supply may cap off RD's use.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
It is indeed a complex subject with lots of branches, but a recent American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) paper says renewable diesel and its kin may actually be significantly greener than BEVs, when considering the entire life cycle.
Because transportation is responsible for 29% of all U. S. greenhouse gases, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the largest single sector of such emissions, this is an important subject. And, says ATRI, trucking used 77.8% of all diesel in 2023. Solving the diesel issue alone would be significant.
Life Cycle Emissions of Petro Diesel, Renewable Diesel, and BEVs in Heavy Duty Trucks
For this comparison, ATRI considered the entire span of the production, operation, and disposal of both the vehicles and the fuels themselves. A class 8 truck is defined as one with a gross vehicle weight of 33,001+ pounds, referred to in this report as combination trucks.
The study took into account the carbon dioxide (CO2) absorbed by plant-based feedstocks for renewable diesel (RD), production processes, mining/disposal of lithium for BEV batteries, emissions (or lack thereof in the case of BEVs) during a truck's operation, and a long list of other emissions factors from creation to disposal.
Overall, ATRI's top conclusion was that the life cycle CO2 emitted by ICEs using RD "is approximately 50 percent lower than BEV CO2. RD feedstock choice may decrease this figure further."
Such a conclusion may be confusing because RD does emit greenhouse gases such as CO2 when burned as truck fuel. But ATRI noted that it's offset by the fact that "the organic materials used to make renewable diesel--such as soybean oil--remove carbon from the air when growing, and then release carbon when the organic material is processed, combusted or decomposed." Other, "second generation" sources include organic waste, agricultural waste and wood products.
RD is one of two types of non-petroleum diesel. The report focuses on RD instead of the other, biodiesel, because the latter is not chemically identical to the petroleum variety, and can only be used in mixtures of up to 20% biodiesel. On the other hand, RD is identical and can be mixed in any amounts, or used as a standalone option.
Problems with Proliferation
Both RD and BEVs have some supply chain and distribution challenges before they can significantly reduce CO2 in the U. S. In 2023, the U. S. consumed 36 billion gallons of diesel, with its 3.25 million registered combination trucks accounting for 28 billion of that. In comparison, that year the U. S. consumed just under 3 billion gallons of RD and slightly less than 2 billion gallons of biodiesel.
While the 2023 RD figure represents a 66% increase over the previous year and a whopping 500% since 2018, the combined amount of green diesel is still a small percentage of the total--and the ability to ramp up production will be limited by, among other things, how much farmland is available for fuel feedstock as opposed to food.
For BEVs also, the number of charging stations is growing, but Tesla Incorporated's (NASDAQ:TSLA) (Austin, Texas) announced layoffs in their vehicle charging division could halt that growth.
One advantage for ICEs using RD is that the vehicles themselves do not require modification to use the fuel. No changes in the vehicle supply chain would be required. For BEVs, production is increasing, but they are generally much more expensive to make than comparable ICE trucks. Plus, the greater battery storage required for BEVs reduces their payload space, potentially hampering their profitability on a per-trip basis.
Fuel Price?
Another variable is the comparative price of RD versus petro diesel. Because the great majority of green diesels are consumed in California due to its California Air Resources Board (CARB) are stricter than most on limiting emissions, the ATRI study quotes CARB statistics on comparative prices from 2017-2023. For much of that time RD hangs slightly under petro diesel in terms of price, but the differences are small, and the RD price fluctuations closely mirror those of its crude-based competitor.
In the long term, RD may pose more supply limitations than BEVs because there is only so much farmland that can be dedicated to fuel production. At some point, either price or supply may cap off RD's use.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
