Commercial Battery Electric Fleets Must Address Impact of Temperature Extremes on Range

Early production of fully electric commercial vehicles for last mile deliveries, municipal transportation, ports, and refuse has rarely addressed how range and longevity could be adversely impacted by extreme weather conditions. Temperatures, especially those below 40°F or above 115°F, will have a material impact on range. Tesla consumer adoption provides an initial proxy with decreased range of up to 30% in extreme cold temperatures. These challenges are hardly limited to Tesla or battery supplier Panasonic. The American Automobile Association (AAA) recently released a study finding that a battery electric vehicle (BEV)’s range can be impacted by over 40% if an interior heater is utilized. The study included BMW, Nissan, Chevy, Volkswagen, and Tesla. Hot weather and the use of air conditioning reduced range between 4% to 17%. The underlying issues are the vehicle’s lithium-ion battery temperature sensitivity and the need to leverage the battery to power the climate control.

The BEV’s most costly module is its onboard computer, which could constrain the battery in severe weather. Additionally, GM has tracked battery performance for years via its OnStar program, finding that, without a high-quality cooling and thermal conditioning solution, hot desert climates shorten the life of batteries by up to 50% with a 23°F change.  

Real-life commercial experiences including private and municipal transportation are providing a window into lessons learned. BEV bus OEM Proterra began a partnership in downtown Chicago with real estate company JLL. Their December 2016 start provided a test of both extreme cold and temperature variations within a 24-hour period. This use case is one of several including refuse that offer fixed routes and schedules as well as the ability to charge at night. One lesson learned from this test was to ensure the buses returned with 25% power in colder months to ensure their routes were successfully completed. Another was to plan starting routes much closer to the city core to avoid beginning routes with only 70% of range remaining. Preconditioning vehicles to warm their batteries and interiors prior to departure may offer some benefits as well.

Tesla Semi customers UPS and Anheuser Busch have partnered with Tesla to design of the charging infrastructure that will be installed at their company terminals, and plan to have all their trucks’ routes begin and end at the same terminals. Sharing charging facilities between customers is also being considered.A network of Tesla Megachargers placed along major transportation routes and powered via solar energy has not yet materialized.

Beyond route planning, pre-conditioning, and return to terminal plans, use cases will be somewhat narrow for the foreseeable future. Current best use cases center on last mile deliveries, ports, municipal transportation, and refuse. The next wave is expected to include more medium-duty GVW 6 and 7, still with relative proximity to charging stations. It will likely require next generation commercial vehicles with enhanced range and battery technology and new infrastructure to enable long-haul Class 8, most likely through technology not available yet. Additionally, carefully designed thermal management systems are a critical part of the vehicles’ overall design.

Commercial hybrid vehicles continue to evolve. Tesla co-founder Ian Wright created Wrightspeed, with range-extended electric powertrains and a focus on frequent-stop heavy-duty commercial use cases including refuse. Wrightspeed’s turbine generators can utilize diesel, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), gasoline, or biogas. Nikola Motors is preparing to begin early production of its hydrogen-electric semi in 2021, with full production by 2023. Singapore-based AVEVAI (which stands for autonomous vehicle, electric vehicle, artificial intelligence) is utilizing supercapacitor technology to enhance both battery life and range for its IONA vehicles. Its expectation is to provide improved results for extreme weather from -40°C to 70°C. A variety of on-road testing across temperatures and weather conditions will be required to fully assess these evolving solutions’ performance with respect to battery range and life span for commercial vehicles.

Within the next decade, battery technology developments are expected to deliver results. One such example is a solid-state battery without liquid inside, to limit weather sensitivity, which remains in development. Until then, some 3PL’s are taking a wait-and-see approach, while major logistics players and retailers are willing to invest as early adopters and leverage the emerging technology to complement, but not fully replace, traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) and newer hybrid options.