Issue link: https://resources.mouser.com/i/1510154
30 EV and Connected Transportation Globally, city centers are proposing complete bans on fossil fuel vehicles, yet still expect goods and services to be delivered and provided. Noise pollution, especially around schools and hospitals, has become an increasingly growing concern. These factors, along with decreasing battery technology costs and improved battery technology, are also helping electric emerge as a choice beyond the city center for off-highway industries like mining, construction, and agriculture. Widely Variable Use Cases Mean Diverse Electrification Paths for Industrial and Commercial Transportation The ICT landscape is quite complex. Transitioning from "dirty" internal combustion engines (ICE) to cleaner propulsion methods is not as straightforward as it is for passenger cars, and the passenger car story itself is far from straightforward. There are many different applications and use cases, with each of these cases providing various opportunities with differing (optimized) solutions. The transition to electrified powertrains will look different depending on the job for the vehicle. Trucks can be long haul—delivering goods across the country—or short haul, delivering goods and services locally and within short distances. They can be heavy duty, moving large and massive cargo, or medium/light duty, transporting smaller goods. Buses can be motor coaches, moving people long distances. They can also be city or school buses, moving people on shorter, well-prescribed routes during defined hours of operation. Other applications include industrial equipment used for construction, mining, farming, and forestry. This wide variety of use cases contributes to the complexity of transitioning from ICE to electric (Figures 2 and 3). Figure 2: Use cases driving adoption of electric vehicles. (Source: McKinsey Center for Future Mobility) There Are Multiple Paths on The Road to Electrification Not only are the use cases for heavy-duty vehicles and equipment complex and varied, so too are the possible vehicle architectures being developed to enable cleaner transportation for these applications. Today's trucks and machinery are typically powered by internal combustion engines driving two or more wheels through a transmission. ICEs primarily use gasoline, diesel fuel, or in some cases compressed natural gas (CNG). While industry manufacturers have taken steps to improve fuel consumption and reduce emissions, including the introduction of 48V mild hybrid approaches, more needs to be done. Legislation and widening diesel bans are magnifying the need for reduced emissions. As a result, vehicle manufacturers are accelerating development away from internal combustion engines and focusing more on architectures incorporating electric motors. The approaches they are actively pursuing may be summarized in four categories: