ENGIE : Decarbonizing Ports, The Promise of As-a-Service Models for Zero-Emissions Trucks

By Vincenzo Giordano, Director - Sustainability Solutions for cities and communities, ENGIE Impact. Port Trucking and Climate Change Short-haul trucking at ports is a major contributor to global carbon and nitrogen oxide emissions. Port activities alone account for 3% of global carbon emissions and heavy-duty trucks emit around 40% of a port’s total greenhouse gases (GHGs).These so-called drayage trucks complete routes within a 150-mile radius, transporting goods between two ports, between ports and distribution centers or warehouses and between nodal points within the same port. Although they travel relatively short distances, the frequent stops and starts—as well as spending idle time in queues with their diesel engines running—make them one of the most energy inefficient forms of transport.Additionally, ports are often located near disadvantaged communities, meaning the immediate impact of their pollution falls disproportionately upon the marginalized. These environmental and social factors are driving a strategic need for deep decarbonization of ports and of truck fleets.In this article, ENGIE Impact looks at the potential to transform the San Pedro Bay Ports’ 15,000 diesel drayage fleet to zero-emission trucks (ZE) by 2035. Drawing from our experience in large-scale energy infrastructure and eMobility transitions, we explore the opportunities that adopting as-a-Service models can provide to not only San Pedro Bay Ports (California), but ports around the world facing similar decarbonization challenges. Ports: Air Quality and Sustainability in Focus The Port of Los Angeles (PoLA) and the Port of Long Beach (PoLB), collectively the San Pedro Bay Ports (SPB Ports), is the busiest port system in the Western Hemisphere. As a leader in port sustainability, they have consistently reduced GHG emissions between 5% and 7% on a year-over-year basis and when compared to 2005, have reduced GHG emissions by 32%. They are also targeting local air pollutants such as sulfur oxide (SOx), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and ozone, which contribute to $44 million per year in health care costs in Los Angeles related to respiratory hospitalizations.However, to fully address their local air quality and global climate impacts, the SPB Ports have pledged to achieve 100% zero-emission (ZE) Class 8 truck operations by 2035. Their Clean Truck Zero Emission Funding Program will be instrumental to achieving their ambitions.The SPB Ports currently use a diverse network of over 15,000 drayage trucks, populated by both large corporate-owned fleets and small owner-operators. All operators are essential community members, some of whom may need extra support to meet emission reduction targets.Encouragingly, these initiatives enjoy strong political support from federal, state and city bodies.In 2020, California introduced the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule, which mandates that an increasing percentage of state-wide freight truck sales be zero emission trucks, beginning in 2024. Similar measures have followed nationwide. Fifteen Northeast states and the District of Columbia, for instance, recently signed the Multi-State Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero Emission Vehicle Memorandum of Understanding, with similar goals to decarbonize truck fleets. Meanwhile, large port cities across the globe are proactively introducing their own measures. Vincenzo Giordano, Director - Sustainability Solutions for cities and communities, (picture : © ENGIE Impact) Obstacles to Truck Fleet Electrification While these policy actions are steps in the right direction, the path to implementation on a meaningful scale faces financial, infrastructure and operational barriers. In order to understand these challenges on a deeper level, ENGIE Impact undertook an analysis specific to the drayage fleets—both large and small—operating at the SPB Ports. Here’s what we found: High total cost of ownership (TCO)In 2021, the estimated TCO for heavy-duty electric trucks is 30-35% higher when compared to diesel trucks. For small scale drayage operators, that number is 40-45%. This cost includes not just…