A new study conducted earlier this month showed that in order for the trucking industry to move in a direction that would lead them to being fully electric, they would need a budget of $1 trillion in infrastructure investments. The study was commissioned by the Clean Freight Coalition in order to gain more insight into the industry so that they could pose accurate reports to policymakers. The coalition’s goal is to advocate for lower emissions in the trucking industry but finding the best ways to do so economically.

With their knowledge of electric vehicles and the industry, they came to the conclusion of the $1 trillion requirement.

The Executive Director of the Clean Freight Coalition, Jim Mullen, released a statement stating, that they “found that there was a void in information relative to this transition as it relates to the buildup of the nation’s electrical infrastructure.” They specifically lacked helpful information regarding the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric motors and vehicles that they would need for industry to make a full transition.

The Clean Freight Coalition commissioned Roland Berger to actually conduct the study. The consulting firm has a specific expertise in infrastructure, the automotive industry, and commercial trucking, so naturally they were the perfect candidate to help in the study. From the breakdown of the $1 trillion that they reported, they stated two main investment spaces that would be required. First, about $620 billion would be needed to create the necessary charging infrastructure. Second, about $370 billion would be needed in order to upgrade the distribution grid networks.

Many in the trucking industry recognize that they will have to begin making waves towards these investments.

Several leaders in the industry have spoken on their acknowledgement of this study and the way they believe the situation should be handled. One such industry leader is Chris Spear, the President of the American Trucking Association. He stated essentially that he recognizes they will simply have to soon begin to invest in projects to at least move quicker towards an electric future. Additionally, he did point out that the emissions have reduced significantly in the last few decades. Overall, the trucking industry needs to soon make bigger waves to further reduce emissions.