The weight issue for bridges, street infrastructure (such as sewer lines and asphalt wear and tear, etc.), and fire risks not only affect EVs in general, but especially Semi-Trucks that are EVs. In a previous post I noted the dangers of EV cars added weight for parking structures and deaths. But now you have these monsters hitting the road… what are firefighter options as well? Will they have to get new rigs with a foam to stop these fires? More hazmat options for the toxicity of these fires? I don’t know WEIGHT WEIGHT RELATED TO TOW CAPACITY AND CARGO LIMITS American truck manufacturers like Freightliner and Tesla are already delivering the electric trucks that the industry needs to pivot away from gas engines. New legislation, like the Inflation Reduction Act, is encouraging the change through credits for green commercial vehicles, but the weight of massive batteries is still standing in the way. A semi-truck including its cargo can legally weigh a maximum of 80,000 pounds. A battery for an electric truck can be up to 16,000 pounds, according to recent reporting by CNBC. That’s nearly a quarter of the total weight of the truck. The eCascadia electric semi-truck, which was released last year by truck manufacturer Freightliner, weighs up to 4,000 pounds more than a regular diesel truck, for example. That’s heavy, but less overall weight than the average electric semis, which a University of California study estimated will be more than 5,000 pounds heavier than their carbon-spewing counterparts by 2030. That’s more than 5,000 pounds less cargo on the truck. In terms of cargo, that’s space for nearly 17,000 t-shirts, 16,000 apples, or one full car less than a non-electric semi-truck could carry. …. WEIGHT RELATED TO RAOS WEAR & TEAR Road wear and tear… “A new study shows EVs put 2.24 times more stress on roads than petrol vehicles” Electric vehicles (EVs) cause twice as much stress on roads compared to petrol vehicles, potentially worsening the pothole crisis in the UK, according to a study. The research conducted by data journalists at The Telegraph revealed that the average EV exerts 2.24 times more stress on roads compared to a similar petrol vehicle and 1.95 times more stress than a diesel vehicle. The impact is even bigger with larger EVs, which can lead to up to 2.32 times more damage to road infrastructure, according to the report. In an analysis, 15 popular EVs were compared to their petrol counterparts, revealing an average weight difference of 312 kilograms. The increased weight of EVs can be primarily attributed to their heavy batteries, which can weigh up to 500 kilograms. Scientists note that this heightened stress on roads results in the increased movement of asphalt, leading to the formation of small cracks that can eventually develop into problematic potholes. A previous report by the Asphalt Industry Alliance estimated that this cost could mean that nearly £61,700 needed to be spent for every mile of a local road in England and Wales.…. CHARGING TIME – range Andrew Boyle, co-president of Massachusetts-based Boyle Transportation and first vice chairman of the American Trucking Associations, told Congress the trucking industry was committed to further reducing emissions but that regulations must be technically achievable, national in scope, and set on a realistic timeline. Here is an example using cars… now imagine the issue for long-haulers. I have seen articles with battery pods that can just be switched out {plugged in and out so-to-speak}, but this will triple battery production and add even more stress on power grids. Are these people dumb! INFRASTRUCTURE One fleet tried to electrify just 30 trucks at a terminal in Joliet, Illinois. Local officials shut those plans down, saying that would draw more electricity than is needed to power the entire city. Another California company tried to electrify 12 forklifts. Not trucks, but forklifts. Local power utilities told them that’s not possible. If the product, charging infrastructure, and power is not available to comply with these unrealistic timelines, then regulators are setting trucking — and the American consumer — up for failure. MORE FIRE HAZARDS Electric vehicles are on the rise across the country, and while that’s a step forward for the environment, firefighters are raising safety concerns. They say electric vehicle fires pose a number of risks, not only to the community, but also to firefighters themselves. The truth about EVs and fire risk in our cities | Auto Expert John Cadogan SPONTANIOUS COMBUSTION! Ford shut down production of the popular electric truck for five weeks following a fire in Dearborn in February. When the fire was out, all that was left was soot and damaged paint. Fire departments nationwide are in training as they learn how to put out fires for electric vehicles. But an EV fire is a dramatically different and far more dangerous problem for them. ACE OF SPADES lights this topic up! I add media: The 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE 350+ Sedan was in the garage when it caught fire on July 19. According to Jennifer Ruotolo, the EV was a loaner from Mercedes-Benz while her own car was getting serviced. She told News4Jax that the luxury electric sedan wasn’t even charging when it burst into flames – she doesn’t own a home charging unit. “It was parked in the garage, about 22 hours and then it caught fire. I was at work. About 8:30 and my husband heard a hiss and a pop, and he went into the garage full of smoke. It engulfed in flames and exploded,” the Nocatee, Florida resident said….. [….] Undamaged EVs are alread terrifying enough (there is no way would I ever allow one to be parked in my garage) but if an EV was in a wreck or otherwise damaged, where the heck do you store it knowing that it could erupt in flames at any time. If I were a wrecker driver I would not want to ever tow a damaged EV. Back to Nikola, you may recall that I put it at the top of my “EV Manufacturer Dead Pool,” predicting it would be the next to go out of business, following Lordstown Motors’ bankruptcy. Well, Nikola is getting closer. It just suspended all sales of battery powered trucks and recalled all those on the road. “Nikola Recalls All Battery-Electric Trucks, Halts Sales After Fire Probe” [Reuters – 8/14/2023] Nikola said on Friday it was recalling all the battery-powered electric trucks that it has delivered to date and is suspending sales after an investigation into recent fires found a coolant leak inside a battery pack as the cause. [….] I have an obligation to acknowledge when I get things wrong. As noted above, I predicted that Nikola would be the next EV manufacturer to go bankrupt. I got it wrong, it was actually a Biden-touted electric bus maker that was next in line. Proterra, Electric-Bus Maker Touted by President Biden, Goes Bankrupt [WSJ – 8/08/2023] Proterra, an electric bus maker that has been lauded by President Biden for its U.S. manufacturing operations, has become at least the third electric-vehicle business to file for bankruptcy in roughly the past year. [h/t to Mr. CBD for bringing this one to my attention. I think Proterra was his entry in my EV Dead Pool.] [….] GM has been plagued by exploding EVs, so they are now trying to figure out why. I know! I know! [Buck waves hand furiously in the air.] I know the answer to this one!! It’s when lithium-ion batteries are used as a power source for a vehicle rather than using a gasoline powered engine. You’re welcome, GM. [….] I believe that others on the blog have already covered this next story, and I am not going to joke about it, because this awful EV conflagration took a man’s life. “Burning Car Carrier Towed to Temporary Location off Dutch Coast” [Reuters – 7/31/2023] A burning car carrier off the Dutch coast has been towed to a new location away from shipping lanes as part of an operation to salvage the ship, the Dutch public works and water management ministry and local media said on Monday.The freighter, which was travelling from Germany to Egypt when the blaze broke out on July 26… Ship charter company “K” Line said on Friday there were 3,783 vehicles on board the ship – including 498 battery electric vehicles, significantly more than the 25 initially reported. EV lithium-ion batteries burn with twice the energy of a normal fire, and maritime officials and insurers say the industry has not kept up with the risks. Shipping companies and insurance companies have a day of reckoning coming regarding EVs. They are under pressure from the eco-left to embrace electric vehicles, but EVs are explosively dangerous, they are almost impossible to extinguish when they catch fire, and they are so fragile that the slightest damage to an EV will require it to be totaled. TOXIC FIRES A car catches fire every two minutes in the United States, and firefighters are well-versed in how to respond. But they face new hazards and challenges when that fire is in an electric vehicle or EV. Nearly 2 million EVs are already on the road and many believe they’re the future of driving. Though EV fires aren’t necessarily more common than standard car fires, they require a different approach from first responders (more from LOCAL 12) Here an EV bus takes minute to fully engulf, luckily it was next to a steel and glass building and not a wood structure. Can you imagine these fires with the amount of battery cells long-hauler trucks have?
EV Semi-Trucks Reality Check (Infantile Thinking)
A Mercedes-Benz EQE Sedan caught fire and burned to a crisp inside a Florida homeowner’s garage last week, severely damaging the building.
A battery fire has destroyed both of Speed ONE Racing’s electric Lancia Delta World Rallycross cars, Carscoops reports. The two Lancia Delta Evo-e race cars were reportedly in the paddock at Lydden Hill Race Circuit in the UK on Friday morning when a fire originating in one of the cars’ battery packs spread and consumed the team’s road tent, taking both cars with it. The fire shut down the World Rallycross Championship event while race authorities attempted to ascertain the cause of the fire. [….] “The fire began just before 08:45, with fire crews working hard to bring it under control and extinguish it as swiftly as possible. Regrettably, the entire Special ONE Racing area was burnt down, including both of their RX1e cars. …