China and the U.S. Electric Heavy-Duty Trucks Face Off in a Showdown—Can You Guess Who Won

In the United States, although Class 8 heavy-duty trucks account for only 9% of the total vehicle fleet, they contribute 48%, nearly half of all emissions! Taming these "oil beasts" is key to decarbonizing the logistics industry.

Recently, the fifth "Run on Less" event organized by the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) and the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) was truly groundbreaking. Rather than relying on theoretical discussions, it pitted 13 top-tier teams against each other in real-world operations, featuring trucks powered by various energy sources—electric, hydrogen fuel cells, natural gas, and diesel—to chart a clear direction for the industry.

Sensitive to air resistance, if the tractor maintains a high average speed during high-speed cruising, the energy consumption per unit mileage will increase; But long-distance driving can stabilize the efficiency of the thermal management system and motor, reducing losses caused by repeated power fluctuations. The 9237 kilometer sample of new energy electric heavy-duty trucks shows that they can complete heavy load sections over long distances, which is particularly important for verifying battery energy management, thermal management, and charging network coordination

More frequent start stop means more acceleration energy consumption, while providing more opportunities for regenerative braking recovery. If Semi's route is mainly in low-speed urban/suburban areas, there may be "high and low fluctuations" in instantaneous efficiency, but the average kWh/mi may not necessarily be higher or lower than long-distance routes - the key depends on the average speed, load, and road conditions.

For electric heavy-duty trucks, charging speed also directly affects operational efficiency. Fortunately, both of the three cars have undergone at least one complete charging process, and we have also extracted the charging curves of both. However, this data is also affected by the power of the charging station and is for reference only.
Although fuel trucks and new energy trucks record and upload data on the same platform, what we need to see is that there are still some differences in operational scenarios, and the data displayed can be used as a reference for everyone. However, it is worth noting that the new energy truck has traveled nearly 3000 kilometers, which also confirms the practical value of its electric heavy-duty truck in the field of long-distance trunk transportation. Of course, these are currently our interpretations based on recent data.