Semi trucks

Semi trucks, also known as freight trucks, transport goods that people consume.

Unlike cars, semi trucks are harder to electrify, because:

• more energy needs to be stored, for longer-range trips
• more peak power is needed

The few existing solutions on the market today rely on lithium-ion batteries which contain way too much cobalt to scale up.

Candidates

This page needs more research before it can reach a decent conclusion.

Note: We probably don't have time to wait for huge technological breakthroughs that could take decades or not come at all. Here's what could be done with existing technologies:

Hydrogen fuel cells

Unknown viability

Fuel cells need platinum-group metals (PGMs). The amount is proportional to the peak power of the vehicle. Considering how much peak power a truck needs to have, how much PGMs would be needed to make them all fuel-cell based? Would it be within the limits of global mineral reserves? ^{[QUANTIFICATION needed]}

At least compressed hydrogen gas is probably ok in terms of energy density.

Sodium-ion batteries

Unknown viability

Sodium-ion batteries have less energy density than lithium-ion. Would there still be enough energy stored?

Suppose it's ok for trucks to make more stops for charging:

• In how many cases would perishable goods be affected?
  • If a lot, then: Hot take: If we want to get off of fossil fuels, we have to make our diets more nonperishable(...)( aside from ultra-local foods, or maybe not even ). Healthy diets are still viable with a multivitamin.
• Would the charging stations on the highway be in locations suited for wind and/or solar?
• Frequent stops could also improve labor conditions. Truckers currently have to drive for 16 hours at a time sometimes - the prolonged sitting is bad for long-term health. However, truck stops would have to be designed to be more enjoyable if truckers are going to have to wait there more often.

See also

• Electric vehicles