Fleets that want to buy battery-electric heavy-duty trucks are finding that they may have to wait two years for their chargers. Site design, permitting, and construction take forever. Matt Horton, CEO of Voltera Power, talks to Jim Park on HDT Talks Trucking about the BEV charging infrastructure challenges for trucking.

Voltera develops charging facilities for light, medium and heavy vehicles. Horton says the upfront costs of developing charging facilities are sidelining some fleets. Others just don’t have the resources to wade through the bureaucratic swamp and get shovels in the ground. Horton discusses the challenges, and offers advice on how to get your BEV up and running as quickly as possible:

• Why are we pushing so hard to electrify right now?

• Why is infrastructure such a problem?

• Charging deserts

• Getting power to the wheels

• Is grid capacity allocated on a first come, first served basis?

• How much energy is 5 megawatts?

• Is the cost of power, including infrastructure, comparable to diesel?

• How far off is a true public charging network?

More About Electric-Truck Charging Infrastructure

Challenges of Charging Commercial Trucks

NACFE Guidance Report on Charging Infrastructure for Battery-Electric Vehicles

The Rush to Battery-Electric Trucks: Putting the Cart Before the Horse