Are these the Top 5 Myths Holding Back Your EV Fleet Transition (Part 2)?

Following my first post on some myths that might be holding up your transition, here are 5 more that could be leading you astray. Do these myths surrounding electric vehicles (EVs) hold your fleet transition back?

As your fleet increasingly becomes your most stubborn emissions source, you and your team will need to address fixed beliefs and get a good source of the truth. Let’s debunk 5 more myths often facing transport fleets.

Myth #5: Battery Electric Will Be Surpassed By Other Technologies

Reality: There has been plenty of buzz around the potential of e-fuels from the likes of Porsche and this will likely be the option to keep your weekend hot-rod or sports car going beyond 2050 but not main stream. The IPCC says e-fuels require around 5 times more electricity to make than used in an EV and they will cost much more. We need renewable diesel as part of the truck decarbonisation equation, but bulk e-fuels are going to be for the fringe and a long way off.

Hydrogen (H2) gets a lot of headlines, hype and public money but the reality is that physics is not on its side and it continues to be frightfully hard in both combustion and fuel cell formats. Some pilots exist but its ones and twos while battery electric vehicles of all sizes are operating at scale now. EV’s head start, physics and economics challenges are insurmountable for H2. The challenge for a market like Australia is our size, for example H2 Truck leader Hyzon this week announced it is pulling out of its Melbourne operations to focus on the US. If there H2 vehicles made we will get them from other markets and compatibility issues will arise.

Battery electric is and will be the main zero emission enabling technology for the coming decade (or more). Some specialist sectors will see other technologies but overseas first.

Myth #6: There Is Not Enough Public Charging

Reality: For the first implementations of commercial vehicles a fleet should not plan to use any public charging, it should be considered for emergencies only. Public charging will have its place in a mature future for commercial EVs but not now. While there are over 1000 DC fast charging locations across Australia, not all offer access to larger vehicles like trucks.

Back to base and depot charging solutions should be where all fleets start their journey. Home charging for cars and some vans may also be appropriate for initial deployments. You don’t play your first game of tennis at Wimbledon, so don’t try to make your first EV deployment a super difficult one.

Myth #7: It’s Just a Car/Van/Truck/Bus, There’s Nothing Special To Worry About

Reality: While you may have considered a fuel card account for a fleet you probably haven’t worried about where the fuel station is or where the fuel comes from. EVs are different and a sure-fire way for an EV pilot or deployment to fail is to think its not that different from your current operation. Typically, it’s the charging, planning and training that are overlooked, after all buying a vehicle is easy – hand over the shekels.

I have heard several automotive professionals from traditional manufacturers say “EVs are just another car, how hard can it be?” While I’m not saying you’ll require a PhD to transition your fleet, it will require some learning/training and the willingness to take that information on board. Build this learning and planning into the process for a higher chance of success.

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Myth #8: Charging is Too Expensive

Reality: Charging can be expensive if uninformed decisions are made. Make sure you are getting the right info from independent sources, not just someone who is trying to sell you something. Charging costs can be broken into two areas:

1 – Installation – consisting of the charger, civil works, electrical install and any connections. This can get very expensive, particularly with large fleets and vehicles but it doesn’t have to. Specify only what you need (chargers) but consider sensible future proofing (civil works). I’ve advised a fleet to save over $1million on one depot of 16 vehicles purely where a supplier over specified playing on the site owner’s limited knowledge.

2 – Power supply – buying power and maybe making some of your own has its costs. It can be done cheaply or expensively. The cost per unit of energy (kWh) is like the cost per litre of fuel, commercial operators should be targeting <10c/kWh for the best EV economics. Demand costs must be factored in, and this is where smart charging systems can save a lot vs just charging you fleet at full speed at any time of day. Also consider a Power Purchase Agreement. Public charging is always the most expensive way to charge – sometimes more than petrol/diesel.

Cleaver, well planned charging systems can save a fortune and should not just be an afterthought.

Myth #9: We’ll put a few solar panels the roof and job done – free energy.

Reality: EVs use a lot of energy (ICE vehicles use even more) and solar on the roof of your depot or building just won’t cut it. Your typical house solar system of 5-6kW will produce about 25kWh of energy on a good day. That will take a Tesla Model 3 about 180km, good for personal travel but it’s not going to feed a fleet operating all day. Scale that up to a trucking fleet, a single Volvo FL (15t truck) can use 180kWh to go about 220km so you’d need a 45kW solar system to feed one truck AND it would need to be onsite all day to catch that energy. Batteries I hear you say? Now it gets really expensive.

On site solar can support an EV fleet with both overall fleet ecosystem cost and emissions reduction, just don’t expect it to do the loins share of the task.

Myth #10: We Are Just Shifting the Emissions to Coal Fired Power

Reality: I hear this and chuckle, then is ask this question: “Where does your diesel/petrol come from today?” answer not Australia (mostly Korea, Singapore and Malaysia, see: https://www.energy.gov.au/energy-data/australian-petroleum-statistics). Meanwhile, where does all of the feed-stock come from for electricity in Australia? Yep, that’s right, Australia, be it coal, gas or increasingly renewables. On a fuel security front, electric vehicles is the best antidote to just 21 days of diesel stock.

So to emissions, yes Australia has a globally dirty grid due to our coal resources and history but coal power generation is more emissions efficient than a petrol/diesel engine. On any measure shifting a petrol or diesel vehicle to electric and charging with grid power will offer an emissions reduction of between 25-35%. This will improve as the grid does with increasing renewables mandated by government policy. Your EVs will only get cleaner over time.

Don't let these (or other) myths hold you back from transitioning to an electric fleet. Seek out advice from reputable, independent and knowledgeable sources. Embrace innovation and future-proof your operations.

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