New report uncovers TRU challenges and opportunities

The North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) has released its first-ever report on transport refrigeration.

Decarbonizing Truck and Trailer Refrigeration has identified key challenges facing the trucking industry ecosystem as it begins to transition away from fossil-fuel powered refrigeration.

“About one of every seven straight trucks and trailers on the road uses transport refrigeration units to keep their freight in a specified temperature range,” said NACFE’s Senior Technical Consultant and study lead, Rob Graff. “Most transport refrigeration units (TRUs) today are diesel powered. These are increasingly subject to regulations on their emissions — including GHGs. We’ve seen the development of low- to no-emissions TRU technologies emerging to meet these requirements.”

There are benefits and challenges in switching to eTRUs from both a cost and operational standpoint, the report explains. Based on its research and analysis, the study team came to the following conclusions about the state of transport refrigeration today:

  • Freight requiring transport in a specified temperature range encompasses about 15 per cent of straight trucks and trailers.
  • Regulations and heightened sustainability expectations are converging to require more sustainable solutions for moving refrigerated goods.
  • New refrigeration units have been developed to run with zero emissions using electricity.
  • Other allied solutions are emerging to support eTRUs.
  • Moving and delivering refrigerated goods with zero or significantly lower emissions while maintaining quality is a large challenge.
  • Activities are underway to plan for and harmonise the connectors and power requirements for charging electric trucks, charging eTRU batteries, and providing shore power when electric reefers are parked or idling.

“Range Energy is excited to see NACFE publishing this important report about eTRUs, said Range Energy Head of Systems Collin MacGregor. “There are a lot of challenges and opportunities in the transition to electric TRUs. This report will be valuable to the trucking industry as it moves forward to adopt this technology.”

In other news, DB Schenker is further expanding its role as a logistics service provider for the semiconductor industry.

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