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Rapidly declining costs of truck batteries and fuel cells enable large-scale road freight electrification

Author

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  • Steffen Link

    (Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI
    Institute of Electrical Engineering (ETI))

  • Annegret Stephan

    (Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI)

  • Daniel Speth

    (Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI)

  • Patrick Plötz

    (Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI)

Abstract

Low-carbon road freight transport is pivotal in mitigating global warming. Nonetheless, electrifying heavy-duty vehicles poses a tremendous challenge due to high technical requirements and cost competitiveness. Data on future truck costs are scarce and uncertain, complicating assessments of the future role of zero-emission truck (ZET) technologies. Here we derive most likely cost developments for price setting ZET components by meta forecasting from more than 200 original sources. We find that costs are primed to decline much faster than expected, with significant differences between scientific and near-market estimates. Specifically, battery system costs could drop by 64% to 75% and fall below €150 kWh−1 by no later than 2035, whereas fuel cell system costs may exhibit even higher cost reductions but are unlikely to reach €100 kW−1 before the early 2040s. This fast cost decline supports an optimistic view on the ZET market diffusion and has substantial implications for future energy and transport systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Steffen Link & Annegret Stephan & Daniel Speth & Patrick Plötz, 2024. "Rapidly declining costs of truck batteries and fuel cells enable large-scale road freight electrification," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 9(8), pages 1032-1039, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natene:v:9:y:2024:i:8:d:10.1038_s41560-024-01531-9
    DOI: 10.1038/s41560-024-01531-9
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    1. Speth, Daniel & Plötz, Patrick & Wietschel, Martin, 2025. "An optimal capacity-constrained fast charging network for battery electric trucks in Germany," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    2. Kathrin Walz & Krzysztof Rudion, 2024. "Charging Profile Modeling of Electric Trucks at Logistics Centers," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-19, November.
    3. Xu, Ling & Xu, Liangfei & Shao, Yangbin & Zhang, Xiyuan & Hu, Zunyan & Li, Jianqiu & Ouyang, Minggao, 2025. "Effects of hydrogen dilution on performance and in-plane uniformity of large-scale PEM fuel cell with low anode catalyst loading," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 379(C).
    4. Fabian Neumann & Johannes Hampp & Tom Brown, 2025. "Green energy and steel imports reduce Europe’s net-zero infrastructure needs," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-19, December.

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