There's always been some incredible technology "within the next few years". I've been reading articles about new battery tech for years. I've yet to see any of these ideas materialize as an actual product. Maybe the current interest in EV's will light a fire under some asses.
EV trucks will most likely take over a lot of the "last mile" hauling first. Warehouse to retailer and direct delivery to customer. Which would be at its best for serving densely-populated and otherwise congested areas. That'd be the "low hanging fruit".
The incentive hasn’t been there to further develop and market these technologies. Smart phone makers got around battery life concerns buy just making the phone larger (path of least resistance/risk) for instance. The EV market might finally provide that incentive. The first automaker to have an affordable EV capable of 500 miles to a charge and recharge in less then 15min with existing infrastructure would likely have great success and be able to stand out in the market.
This is the best role for them, yes. They need to match/beat the specs of existing fleets to make any headway into the other segments I've mentioned though. Unless we all accept a very big lifestyle change where everything takes longer to get.
A big part of the problem is the physics/chemistry. We need to overcome some serious hurdles in materials science to see any major advancements. These are the new breakthroughs I've been reading about for years, but never materialize. A lot of them do in fact work in laboratory tests. The bigger issue is that they can't be manufactured cheaply enough at scale.
Thats my point about R&D.... Most of these technologies do work in the lab and DO have the potential for mass production with a bit more development. No significant technological hurtles exist for a lot of these lab batteries. The problem is getting a company invested in the technology and getting a manufacturer to completely retool their production facilities for the new technology. That isn’t going to happen unless there is a significant incentive (money or market dominating opportunities) to do so....
Just watch my old company.
My son subscribes to an Owner-Operator trucking periodical (he's got his CDL-A). Saw this article in the print copy a couple of days ago so I chased the online version down . . . so apparently they're on the verge of being out there already.
"range of about 150 miles, depending on configuration and operation. They will charge up to 80% within 70 minute"
Mazda is supposedly doing that with the next RX model. A little gas motor weighs a hell of a lot less than 100kw of batteries, but can deliver the same range.
