John Eichberger |
June 2025
Medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles are not simply larger passenger vehicles – they are unique and serve critical functions throughout the economy. This is why the Transportation Energy Institute (TEI) operates a Medium and Heavy-duty Vehicle Committee comprised of contributor organizations who understand, operate in and provide energy and services to this sector of the market. The Committee was formed because these larger, mostly commercial vehicles operate in a wide variety of duty cycles and conditions, and require and deserve special attention when we are discussing the future of transportation. What works for a cross-over utility vehicle a family may purchase will not necessarily work for the myriad vehicles serving our economy and the communities in which we live. Different options are required for each type of vehicle performing different services – and that is what the committee focuses on. The committee has overseen development of a variety of resources over the past few years, and most recently championed publication of “Practical Guide to Cost Effective Fleet Emissions Reductions.”
The objective of reducing emissions from the transportation sector is not going away, but there is currently a renewed focus on the economics of strategies that will enable such reductions. For fleet managers, this focus on the economic return on investments has never gone away even as they seek ways to either comply with regulatory requirements, satisfy the demands of their customers or simply achieve personal and corporate environmental objectives.
A Series of Resources
Why provide resources like this? Because our members recognized years ago that policy designed to reduce emissions from the commercial vehicle sector was drafted with a clear lack of understanding of the complexity and overall economic importance of the sector. TEI published our first paper specifically targeting this market in 2022, “The Easiest and Hardest Commercial Vehicles to Decarbonize.” This report dissected the market and broke it out into 17 different vehicle segments, each with their own unique attributes, and evaluated each for key factors that could affect efforts to reduce emissions. It clearly demonstrated that a one-size-fits-all approach would be a colossal failure.
We then published “Policy Considerations: Emissions Reduction Proposals Affecting Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicles,” a paper identifying key questions and topics that should be considered when thinking about reducing emissions from commercial vehicles by regulation. For example, one must consider the work-rate of the current vehicle-energy combination and whether the alternative would enable the vehicle to perform the same amount of work in the same amount of time. If not, the result would likely be the deployment of additional vehicles, which would negatively affect the fleet’s economics and add to vehicle congestion in the market. A variety of other key factors were identified to help avoid enactment of requirements that would negatively affect fleet operators and the customers and communities they serve.
New Resources
This latest project extends this work and includes a written guide to help fleet managers most effectively evaluate the options available to them. (A version specifically focused on the Canadian market was published by our Canadian Transportation Council at the end of 2024.) The guide explores the technology and fuel options from which they can select, details their application and availability, considers the opportunities and challenges associated with each and provides a roadmap that managers can follow as they determine their path forward. It is a terrific tool to help companies really understand their options.
Paired up with this is an online calculator that allows the user to customize a scenario to determine anticipated costs and emissions benefits of different options. Users can select the state in which they operate, the type of vehicle and use cases of their fleet and then assess what would be the impact of switching powertrains or energy used for their operations. Duty cycles and financial information is pre-populated and can be adjusted to reflect real world data to provide a truly customized result.
The following are examples of simple analyses using the default values included in the calculator – we did not adjust any inputs, all of which are customizable by the user (such as fuel cost, miles driven, cost of vehicles, financing and insurance terms, refueling infrastructure investments, incentives/subsidies, etc.). The following show the 10-year cost impact of each conversion and the emissions effect of the scenario:
Converting a long-haul class 8 tractor in California from diesel to renewable diesel (RD99)
Converting a class 2b delivery van from gasoline to battery electric.
Where costs of the alternative being modeled are higher than the legacy vehicle and fuel choice, the calculator shows what the cost per ton of CO2 avoided might be. This can help fleet managers evaluate their options relative to any type of carbon credit that might exist in the market, from a regulatory program or even a voluntary carbon credit trading platform.
This tool has been previewed with fleet managers and has been well received. It is available free of charge through the TEI website.
Tracking and Reporting Emissions
TEI also has developed the Carbon Avoidance Tracker, a subscription-based tool that enables fuel providers and fleet managers to calculate and report their actual emissions reductions. Using Argonne National Laboratory’s GREET model, the Tracker provides credible and verifiable data. It is designed to help industry stakeholders share with their customers or financial partners their progress in reducing emissions.
The commercial vehicle segment is a critical component to the economy. As the trucking industry often says, “Without trucks America stops.” And while medium- and heavy-duty vehicles represent a small share of the overall number of vehicles on the road, they are responsible for a significant share of transportation-related emissions. Finding ways to reduce emissions while providing a positive (or at least acceptable) return on investment is essential to support this segment of the market.
TEI’s Medium and Heavy-duty Vehicle Committee will continue to evaluate the market and develop resources to help fleet managers and their energy providers discover innovative and cost-effective ways to reduce emissions.
