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At least 19 records

Sustainable Port Operations: Powered by NREL

Seaports are vital economic hubs that allow the United States to compete on a global scale. But the heavy vehicles and cargo equipment that enable their operations also emit harmful air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. For nearly two decades, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researchers have worked toward comprehensive seaport decarbonization. They fuse world-class analysis with deep vehicle and transportation systems knowledge to guide strategic deployment of low- and zero-emissions vehicles, charging and refueling infrastructure, and grid improvements. Together, these capabilities can enable sustainable port operations. This fact sheet outlines major seaport and airport decarbonization capabilities across the laboratory, including: fleet research, energy data, and insights for decarbonization; comprehensive hydrogen infrastructure deployment; optimized charging through grid integration; strategic blueprinting for clean, optimized technology deployment; and integrating diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility considerations into decarbonization efforts.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,ENERGY CONSERVATION, C↗

Analytic Framework for Optimal Sizing of Hydrogen Fueling Stations for Heavy Duty Vehicles at Ports (CRADA 512)

This CRADA presents the strategy that PNNL and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) will take to support Seattle City Light (SCL) in properly sizing a hydrogen station for class 8 drayage trucks at the Port of Seattle (Port), as part of a coordinated plan of mixed uses for hydrogen. The proper sizing for the fueling station is unique from past experiences because it will be part of a coordinated plan for a multi-use scheme for the hydrogen, and not a stand-alone fueling station. The multiple use-streams, and their relative values, will impact all facets of station sizing and design, including fueling rates, storage technology and size, equipment selection, and safety considerations. The future deployment of this fueling station, and its proper sizing, is seen as a critical first step in the larger vision of utilizing hydrogen to address a range of issues for SCL and the Port. These include, but are not limited to, large scale fueling of medium duty (MD) and heavy duty (HD) vehicles to reduce emissions, support of adjacent light duty (LD) vehicles, support of critical port operation during extreme events (e.g. resiliency), mitigation of capital intensive electrical distribution system upgrades to support evolving port operations, a market resource that can be used by SCL to generate revenue, and support of planned future maritime operations that currently require heavy use of shipboard hydrogen. While the broader use of hydrogen by SCL and the Port is not the focus of this CRADA, how its use impacts the design of the initial vehicle fueling station, and the modular approach, are the central work. As such, this project will develop the framework and process for developing a modular station design that considers the broader range of coordinate uses of hydrogen as an energy resource.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Large-scale Hydrogen Storage – Risk Assessment Seattle City Light and Port of Seattle [Abstract]

This CRADA presents the strategy that Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) will take to support Seattle City Light (SCL), and the Port of Seattle (Port) in performing a risk assessment of large-scale hydrogen storage. Risk assessment is often used to ensure that adequate measures are taken to protect workers and the public, the environment, infrastructure, and assets. A detailed risk assessment can also be used to direct funding and upgrades, to specific components and sub-systems in order to mitigate risks to the larger system. In this way risk assessments are often employed as a part of a larger risk management strategy, with the goal of minimizing the occurrence of hazards and to identify means to limit their consequences. Risk assessment is often used to engage and inform regulators, and to communicate how specific regulations are being met. However, it is important to note that the proposed work is not intended for SCL and the Port to use in order to gain regulatory acceptance for their proposed activities. The work performed as a part of this effort will be a preliminary risk assessment for early-stage component and system designs and should be considered research and development (R&D). As such, the proposed work will be performed to a quality level and design maturity consistent with R&D and is not considered appropriate for final safety analysis and regulatory compliance purposes. Previous and on-going work at SCL and the Port demonstrated the utility of deploying hydrogen systems at the Port. The deployment of hydrogen at the Port is a part of a larger vision of using hydrogen to address a range of issues for SCL and the Port. These include large-scale fueling of MD/HD vehicles, cargo-handling equipment (CHE), and harbor vessels to reduce emissions; support of adjacent LD vehicles; support of critical port operations during extreme events (i.e., resiliency); deferral of more capital- and time-intensive electrical distribution system upgrades while still supporting evolving port operations and decarbonization efforts; facilitating electrification by establishing energy storage as a grid resource, starting at strategic port locations; creation of a flexible market resource that can be used by SCL to generate revenue via arbitrage; support of planned future maritime operations that involve heavy use of hydrogen for ocean-going vessels; and future end-use applications involving natural gas pipeline hydrogen injection. Ultimately, the success of these activities is underpinned by the deployed storage capacity. Large-scale deployment of hydrogen systems will require hydrogen storage at a scale that has not been demonstrated. In addition, the ideal location for such multi-use systems is near the end user which will often necessitate deploying into urban and/or industrial areas. A detailed risk assessment using the Port as a test case is necessary to ensure the deployment of large-scale hydrogen is successful. Many technologies have been proposed for hydrogen storage; however, these technologies need to be analyzed as they apply to an actual site. The physical infrastructure and hydrogen use cases for the Port will be analyzed, and a risk assessment for compressed hydrogen, liquified hydrogen, and Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) storage will be performed. These risk assessments will be useful for understanding how each of these technologies would perform in terms of facility and public safety. The operating states of the proposed hydrogen systems at the Port will be analyzed and incorporated into the storage risk assessment. Scalability will also be analyzed to understand how future port uses would affect the overall risk assessment. Finally, using the risk assessment as a tool to inform engagement and to gain stakeholder acceptance will be explored.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Hydrogen technology for maritime applications: A review of challenges, opportunities, and lessons from the port authority of New York and New Jersey

The maritime industry faces increasing demand for energy security, operational efficiency, and environmental performance improvements. Hydrogen technology, considered a potential energy carrier, is being explored for port operations, including cargo-handling equipment, heavy-duty vehicles, and stationary power systems. This review evaluates the feasibility, challenges, and potential benefits of hydrogen integration within port infrastructure, using the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as a representative case study. Drawing on case studies, technical reports, and policy analyses, this study examines the infrastructural, regulatory, and operational factors influencing large-scale deployment, emphasizing supply chain development, storage requirements, and refueling infrastructure. By situating hydrogen within broader maritime energy transition efforts, this review provides an evidence-based assessment of its role in port operations and energy diversification strategies. In conclusion, the findings outline key barriers to adoption and emphasize the need for coordinated efforts among stakeholders to determine hydrogen's role alongside other emerging energy technologies.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Freight Electrification, Moving Goods While Managing Grid Impacts

Analyzing freight data from the Salt Lake City inland port demonstrates significant potential forintegrating battery-electric freight vehicles (BEVs) into key transportation corridors. Our partnership with freight operators like RSD and MWCS, and other companies moving freight around the port, provided valuable fleet telemetry and operationalinsights, highlighting critical corridors on and around I-15 and I-80.

Source record↗

Hydrogen applications in airport operations: a review using the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as an illustrative airport system

Airports combine aircraft propulsion, ground operations, stationary power systems, and fuel logistics in ways that make emissions reduction technically and operationally complex. Existing studies often assess hydrogen applications in these areas separately, limiting understanding of the shared infrastructure, safety, and operational constraints that shape airport deployment. This review evaluates hydrogen across three airport-relevant operational domains: aviation propulsion, ground support equipment and vehicles, and stationary power systems. Within aviation propulsion, the review examines sustainable aviation fuel production and hydrogen-powered aircraft as two distinct hydrogen-relevant pathways. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is used as an illustrative airport system to relate the literature to a real operating context. Drawing on peer-reviewed studies, technical reports, demonstration projects, and public operational information, the review also includes screening-level calculations of hydrogen demand and potential CO 2 e reductions for selected applications. The findings show that hydrogen's role is highly application-specific. Near-term opportunities are strongest where hydrogen serves as a low-carbon process input, supports selected high-utilization ground equipment, or contributes to resilient stationary power-system configurations. Hydrogen-powered aircraft remain a longer-term option because storage, fueling infrastructure, certification, cost, and NO x management continue to constrain deployment. Across all domains, infrastructure readiness, fuel logistics, safety requirements, and leakage management emerge as recurring determinants of viability. Future research should focus on cross-domain infrastructure planning, comparative assessment of hydrogen against alternative pathways, improved treatment of leakage and non-CO 2 effects, and clearer safety and regulatory frameworks for airport deployment.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Daily operational impacts on battery degradation in heavy-duty electric drayage trucks

Battery aging is a critical factor influencing the performance, longevity, and cost of ownership of battery electric trucks (BETs). This paper presents a comprehensive evaluation of battery aging for two Li-ion battery chemistries, Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt (NMC) and Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LFP), accounting for both cycling and calendar aging. In contrast to traditional methods that rely on simplified linear degradation models based on manufacturer-provided data, this study employs semi-empirical aging models calibrated to experimentally collected data. The models are integrated into a detailed vehicle simulation environment, enabling a comprehensive assessment of battery degradation under realistic operating conditions. A case study focusing on heavy-duty electric drayage truck operations in the Port of Savannah, GA, is presented to illustrate the impact on battery pack lifespan of: seasonal variations, daily operational activities, charging strategies, and battery storage conditions. The results illuminate the significance of the battery pack’s state of charge during stationary periods, such as overnight storage or weekend parking, on battery degradation and its potential implications for long-term vehicle viability. Additionally, the study explores how different operational and environmental factors affect battery degradation, offering critical insights into best battery charging and storage practices. Our results demonstrate that LFP outperforms NMC in terms of years of useful life; however, by utilizing charging strategies that minimize the amount of time the battery spends resting at high levels of state-of-charge, the lifespan of the battery pack that uses NMC can nonetheless be increased by more than a factor of two.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

From Vehicles to Systems: Understanding Freight Transportation as a Connected Energy, Infrastructure, and Operations System

The U.S. freight system may need to handle 50% more cargo by 2050. Upgrading our freight system requires modernizing capital-intensive, long-lived assets including freight trains, ports, and terminal infrastructure. NLR is advancing freight system solutions spanning ALTRIOS, the first digital twin for the full freight rail system; ALTRIOS-LIFTS, which can create digital twins of freight terminals; INFORMES, the first national model of the intermodal freight system; MARINESim, used to simulate and optimize ocean-going vessel operations; and more. These modeling and simulation tools enable data-driven decision-making across freight modes and systems.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Lean-Stratified Combustion System with Miller Cycle for Downsized Boosted Application - Part 2

Automotive manufacturers relentlessly explore engine technology combinations to achieve reduced fuel consumption under continued regulatory, societal and economic pressures. For example, technologies enabling advanced combustion modes, increased expansion to effective compression ratio and reduced parasitics continue to be developed and integrated within conventional and hybrid propulsion strategies across the industry. Here, a high-efficiency gasoline engine capable for use in conventional or hybrid electric vehicle platforms is highly desirable. This paper is the second of two papers describing the multi-cylinder integration of a technology package combining lean-stratified combustion with Miller cycle for downsized boosted applications. The first paper describes the design, analysis and single-cylinder testing conducted to down-select the combustion system deployed to the multi-cylinder engine. This paper defines a light-duty engine package capable of achieving a 35% fuel economy improvement at US Tier 3 emission standards over a naturally aspirated stoichiometric baseline vehicle. A multi-mode combustion system was developed enabling highly efficient lean-stratified operation at light-load and stoichiometric Miller-cycle operation at mid- to high-loads. A central direct-injection four-valve layout was designed with high-tumble ports and a bowl-in-piston capable of stable operation under highly dilute mixtures when properly matched to fuel spray characteristics, injection strategy, and a high-energy ignition system. Boost system layout and base engine architecture were selected to minimize parasitics and maximize after treatment effectiveness. A multi-cylinder engine was developed and calibrated over a steady-state map. Results fed vehicle simulations over the EPA city and highway test cycles to predict the fuel economy improvement and tailpipe emissions potential. Fuel economy improvements over the baseline vehicle were projected at 42% and 39% for active-urea and passive-ammonia SCR after treatment systems respectively. Controls complexity to achieve regulatory compliance and the cost of the lean after treatment system were identified as the primary challenges to commercial viability.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

EVSE Cybersecurity and Resilience

Consequence-driven Cybersecurity Analysis for Extreme Fast Charging Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Electric vehicle (EV) development and associated charging infrastructure are expected to advance rapidly. Thirty percent of all global vehicle sales may be EVs and hybrid EVs by 2025, and they will rely on increasingly sophisticated strategies for grid integration. Next-generation EV charging infrastructure is expected to include interconnected renewable resources, such as photovoltaic (PV) arrays and battery storage systems, along with grid-edge devices. Although distributed energy resources (DERs) are useful in several ways, such as peak shaving at high demand times and backup supply for added resilience, the integration of vehicle charging and DERs could create more avenues for cyberattack. Physical and/or remote access to EV charging station components, including charge ports, power electronics, controllers, and local generation (e.g., PV and energy storage) could be paths to cause power fluctuations, leading to altered operations at the charging station, escalated privileges to administrative systems, exfiltration of financial information (including personally identifiable information), and reduced grid stability. One compromised EV supply equipment component can open the door to a variety of exploitable vulnerabilities. Cloud computing and mobile application control have the potential to expand the threat surface to non-repudiation and firmware integrity challenges. Vendor clouds have access to hundreds of chargers, and if compromised, can scale the attack surface exponentially. The high power and voltage levels of xFC infrastructure (e.g., 400 kW at 1000- V DC) increase the hazards and ability to impact the grid and vehicles more than lower-power charging systems. Legacy communications systems and protocols could also put EV infrastructure at risk of cyberattacks requiring a robust patch management process. Communications networks link EVs and chargers to several stakeholders - including charging station operators, grid operators, vendors/manufacturers, and aggregators - who have both physical and network access to share information for control, monitoring, and analytics. Information in these networks that is vulnerable to compromise includes the state of charge, charging duration, payment information, electricity price, and load control. Analyzing and prioritizing these interconnections risks could help address cybersecurity related to data leakage and manipulation.

charging↗

A Unified Design Theory for Multi-Port Polyphase Transformers Enabling Scalable Power-Multiplexed EV Fleet Charging Systems

This paper presents a unified analytical design theory for multi-port polyphase transformers, targeting scalable and isolated high-power Electric Vehicle (EV) fleet charging systems with power multiplexing capability. As fleet electrification accelerates, conventional one-to-one charger architectures face significant challenges in infrastructure cost, peak power demand, and low utilization of installed power electronics. Power-multiplexed charging architectures, which dynamically distribute power from a shared pool of converter modules across multiple vehicles, have emerged as a promising solution. However, such architectures require scalable, isolated multi-port power interfaces capable of routing energy among multiple inputs and outputs, whose design remains complex and dependent on iterative modeling. To address this gap, the proposed theory provides closed-form expressions for self-inductance, leakage inductance, and mutual coupling terms for arbitrary multi-phase, multi-port transformer structures. The formulation enables direct synthesis of isolated multi-input and multi-output resonant converter systems without reliance on geometry-specific finite-element analysis or extensive parameter extraction. This capability is particularly critical for power-multiplexed systems, where modular converter structures must interface with multiple vehicles while maintaining galvanic isolation and flexible power allocation. The effectiveness of the proposed framework is demonstrated through the design of a 360 kW multi-phase system operating over a 700–900 VDC input and 400–1250 VDC output range. PLECS simulation results confirm accurate prediction of system behavior and validate the applicability of the approach to multi-port, power-multiplexed charging scenarios. The proposed method significantly reduces design complexity while enabling scalable, cost-effective, and fully utilized EV fleet charging infrastructure.

Asa, Erdem [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000190884812)↗

Techno-Economic Evaluation of Electrified Vehicle Options in Drayage Fleets

The electrification of drayage fleets offers potential economic and operational benefits, but the financial viability of electrified vehicles remains sensitive to battery cost, energy price, and fleet usage patterns. While total cost of ownership (TCO) is a useful benchmark, fleet operators and investors are equally concerned with investment performance metrics such as payback period (PB) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR), which better reflect financial risks and investment return timelines. This study develops a unified techno-economic framework that jointly evaluates TCO, PB, and IRR to determine when electrified trucks become cost-effective alternatives to diesel trucks. Building on a previously developed cost modeling tool and using real-world telematics data from a Class 8 drayage fleet at the Port of Savannah, the analysis incorporates projected battery cost trajectories, electricity and diesel price trends, vehicle efficiency improvements, and multiple battery capacities. Parameter ranges reflect widely cited projections and observed drayage-duty-cycle variability. A surrogate-modeling method approximates economic performance across thousands of battery cost–electricity price combinations, enabling high-resolution identification of conditions that achieve TCO parity, acceptable PB thresholds, and target IRR levels. Additionally, the study estimates the evolving share of the fleet that can feasibly electrify over time under multiple economic metrics. This integrated framework offers a novel, data-driven approach to inform risk-aware decision-making for fleet electrification and supports investment planning under evolving cost and operational conditions.

Sun, Ruixiao [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000341768676)↗

Powertrain Performance and Total Cost of Ownership Analysis for Class 8 Yard Tractors and Refuse Trucks

Advanced powertrain technologies, specifically fuel cell electric powertrains, have gained attention as viable alternatives for medium- and heavy-duty (M/HD) vehicles. However, it is unclear how these alternative powertrain vehicles stack up against their diesel counterparts in terms of performance and total cost of ownership (TCO). Furthermore, there are vehicle segments within the M/HD sector that have remained unstudied for fuel cell electric applications. This analysis aims to provide a comparative scoping-level TCO and performance analysis for two heavy-duty vocation vehicles (Class 8 U.S. port-side yard tractor and Class 8 U.S.-based refuse truck) for both conventional diesel and heavy-duty fuel cell electric (HDFC) powertrains. The refuse truck analysis also considered compressed natural gas powertrains (CNG) for comparison. The analysis includes seven timeframes (2020, 2025, 2030, 2035, 2040, 2045, and 2050) for comparison. This simplified TCO analysis includes only direct costs (fuel price, glider purchase price, and operating & maintenance costs) and excludes any associated indirect cost (e.g., dwell time costs and other opportunity based costs). Representative drive cycles for each vehicle were based on on-board GPS logged data and chosen by the analysis team to represent average, non-extreme driving conditions. At the time the analysis was performed, the Inflation Reduction Act was not in effect and therefore any potential subsidies and future cost reductions enacted under the Inflation Reduction Act were not included. Based on the operational setpoints used in this analysis, HDFC powertrains for both yard tractors and refuse trucks have the potential to achieve TCO advantages over conventional diesel powertrains (and CNG for refuse truck applications) in the near- to mid-term future while meeting the necessary duty cycle performance requirements. Yard tractors and refuse trucks spend a significant amount of time operating at low speeds, with long durations of idling, and experience numerous start/stop occurrences. These operational characteristics favor fuel cell performance as fuel cells operate with higher efficiencies at lower percentages of total power output. Conversely, conventional diesel and CNG engines are most efficient at higher percentages of total power output. This helps HDFC powered yard tractors and refuse trucks realize improved fuel economy when compared to their diesel counterparts, which helps reduce total fuel costs and therefore, total TCO. The analysis demonstrates that fuel prices play a significant role in determining TCO for each vehicle and should remain an R&D focus area. Overall, under the analysis' specified conditions, HDFC yard tractors have the potential to achieve cost parity with diesel yard tractors as early as 2025. For refuse trucks, HDFC refuse trucks have the potential to achieve cost parity with diesel and CNG refuse trucks in 2030 and 2040, respectively.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Electric Vehicle Charging for Residential and Commercial Energy Codes: Technical Brief

Numerous studies show that sales of electric vehicles (EVs) have grown consistently over recent years in the U.S. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated 3 million EVs were on the road in 2022, and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) forecasts a total of 26.4 million EVs on the road by 2030. Based on this forecast, EEI projects the need for an additional 12.9 million EV charge ports by 2030. If EV charging infrastructure fails to keep pace with sales of EVs it could result in consumers stranded without options to power their vehicles. EVs are capable of providing substantial benefits to the consumers. EVs are less expensive to operate than conventional internal combustion engine vehicles, have lower maintenance costs, and have the convenience of fueling (charging) at home or work. Studies conducted in California show that costs associated with installing EV charging infrastructure can be substantially more expensive for retrofit scenarios compared to new construction, making inclusion of EV infrastructure in new construction codes a cost-effective policy option to increase infrastructure to meet growing demands. PNNL tracks adoption of mandatory EV provisions across the U.S. As of December 20, 2024, 12 states (California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, New Mexico, Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Vermont) and 53 local governments have added EV provisions to their building codes, local ordinances and zoning requirements. Originally published in 2022, this tech brief has been revised to align with recent model energy code committee discussions and published EV infrastructure code language. This technical brief summarizes market trends, costs and benefits, and provides sample code language for EV charging infrastructure for consideration to be included in model codes, such as the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1, as well as directly by states and local governments in their building codes. The technical brief summarizes related efforts undertaken by states and local governments, and builds upon language considered during the 2021 and 2024 IECC development cycles.

2021 IECC↗

Resilient U.S. Land Ports of Entry

The continued operation of Land Ports of Entry (LPOE), managed by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and General Services Administration% is vital to the U.S. economy and security. Border faculties are included in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Government Facilities Sector2, one of the 16 critical infrastructures "whose assets, systems, and networks, whether physical or virtual, are considered so vital to the United States that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination thereof.'" Specifically, disruptions to the flow of border crossing traffic, in the form of closures or increased border crossing wait times, impact the economy and security of all countries involved. This paper describes a process for analyzing and improving the resilience of U.S. Land Ports of Entry. For LPOE, the team believes that energy resilience is the primary objective due to the complete reliance on the e-manifest system and the increasing use of Multi-Energy Portals (MEPs). Emanifests are part of CPB's Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). They document several key pieces of information about cargo vehicles wishing to cross the border into the United States and are submitted before arriving at the port. Vehicles can be flagged for more invasive inspection based on the content of the e-manifest. MEPs are a non-intrusive inspection (NII) technology used to scan the contents of the cargo. Together MEPs and ACE serve an important role in aiding CBP with their mission to protect "the public from dangerous people and materials", and "enabling legitimate trade and travel.'" To analyze resilience of a port, the team would need to understand the port's current energy usage, which systems depend on energy and what backup systems exist, and any emergency operation plans that dictate how systems are operated in the event of a power outage. The team would also need to determine the design basis threats (DBTs) for the LPOE which could include natural disasters, manmade events, and accidents. The magnitudes of the DBTs are calculated and are then translated to expected impacts on the infrastructure and systems at the port. With this information gathered, existing LPOE models developed here at Sandia National Laboratories could be extended to support decisions about resilience. Current models are implemented in FlexSim, a 3rd party discrete event simulator. FlexSim provides 3-D visuals of physical layout that can reveal valuable insights, allows input to be variable (e.g. time it takes to interact with the CBP officer at primary inspection can vary) so that a whole range of possibilities can be captured in the results, and can be used to collect user-defined output metrics. Current LPOE models focus on cargo vehicle traffic, and process changes caused by the installation of new drive-through MEPs. Extending them to address resilience questions would require the addition of key pieces of information learned during the resilience analysis including critical systems, failure rates, and process changes for when failures occur. The primary output metric for current models is border crossing wait time. Additional metrics would also be added to the model to gain a more complete understanding of impacts related to resilience, for example, MEP scan rate. Once complete, the model could be used to analyze the effectiveness of mitigation strategies representing some future state.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Port of New York and New Jersey Drayage Electrification Analysis

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) evaluated the potential for drayage electrification in the Port of New York and New Jersey (PoNYNJ), with a focus on operators: Harbor Freight Transport (HF), Safeway Trucking (SWT), and International Motor Freight Inc (IMF). This report summarizes the data collection and electrification evaluation of all three drayage operators, includes detailed operational data, and identifies the performance requirements for battery electric tractors (BETs) and corresponding infrastructure operated within the context of PoNYNJ drayage operation. This report also details a methodology to evaluate opportunities, strategies, and challenges associated with future expansions of BETs in meeting PANYNJ emissions goals. The Port Authority has established a goal of achieving Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050 across all facilities, including from tenant and stakeholder sources such as drayage trucks. NREL used real-world performance data collected on the three PoNYNJ drayage operations, along with modeling and analysis tools to compare BET to diesel trucks. From March to July 2021, NREL collected 1Hz vehicle and engine data from 46 drayage trucks at the three operators totaling nearly 121,000 miles of operation, providing enough information to assess vehicle operations for electrification potential. A Future Automotive Systems Technology Simulator (FASTSim) electric truck powertrain model was validated using PoNYNJ data and scenarios were run to evaluate drayage truck electrification requirements over the real-world cycles. The first scenario examined BET viability with minimal changes to existing operations. This assumes the trucks charge when stopped for two hours or longer, have a functional battery size of 375 kWh, and can charge at 270 kilowatts (kW) average which are the specification of the commercially available Freightliner eCascadia. The second scenario looked at what operational, charging infrastructure, and BET technology changes would be needed to fully electrify. Finally, detailed analysis was run on charging rate structure to understand operational costs to the fleets. The studied drayage trucks averaged 5.1 MPG, spent roughly 9% of their energy at idle, and drove an average of 140 miles per day with a maximum daily distance of 573 miles. The FASTSim model results indicate a comparable BET would use 417 kWh of energy per day on average accounting for cargo weight, which is close to the full usable capacity of the eCascadia currently available on the market. Based on the daily average operating data, partial fleet electrification is possible with current technology. However, some specific days of operation would require over 1,600 kWh of energy due to longer distances traveled by the trucks and more intense operation. Trucks used for long distance and intense operation cannot be readily electrified with current technology without operational changes. Full adoption of BETs could reduce CO 2 emissions from these fleets by roughly 75% today, eliminating 76 metric tons of CO 2 (MTCO 2 ) per vehicle each year, which equates to 24,100 MTCO 2 per year for all three operators. Commercially available direct current fast chargers (DCFC) have charge rates up to 350 kW. Based on the average daily modeled energy use for each operator, current industrial rate structures, and the assumption of 350 kW peak charging, full drayage electrification would increase electricity consumption. In addition, peak demand usage would increase with unmanaged charging along with cost of electricity having a direct impact on cost per mile for electric vehicles. The resulting cost per mile for BETs along with comparable cost per mile for conventional diesel trucks are also examined at $\$$4.00 per gallon of diesel. It will be important for PANYNJ and the drayage operators within the PoNYNJ to consider these load impacts to their existing electrical infrastructure and devise operational strategies that avoid coincident charging of vehicles to mitigate demand charges. Despite these electricity cost increases, savings from reductions in diesel consumption will help offset the costs of this increased electricity consumption. However, prices of both electricity and diesel are subject to change based on various factors meaning the realized savings will vary over time. This shows BETs could be cost-competitive on an energy cost per mile basis for all scenarios while diesel is above $\$$3.00/gal. Further, if diesel prices dropped to the 15-year low of $2.33/gal, it would still be cost competitive to operate the EVs with electricity costs of 16.3 ¢/kWh or less.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Assessing Geospatial and Seasonal Influences on Energy and Cost-Efficiency of Drayage Trucks

The electrification of heavy-duty vehicles is a critical pathway toward improved energy efficiency in the freight sector. The current battery electric truck technology poses several challenges to commercial vehicle operations, such as limited driving range, sensitivity to climate conditions, and long recharging times. Estimating the energy consumption of heavy-duty electric trucks is crucial to assessing the feasibility of fleet electrification and its impact on the electric grid. This article focuses on developing a model-based simulation approach to predict and analyze the energy consumption of electric trucks by considering the impact of weather and geographical conditions on vehicle road load and auxiliary components power consumption, as well as the impact these factors have on driving range. Specifically, drayage trucks employed in logistics around maritime ports are used as a case study, with consideration of seasonal climate variations and geographical characteristics at different locations. The article includes results for three major container ports within the United States, providing region-specific insights into the energy requirements and driving range of the electric drayage trucks in these regions, which will inform decision-makers in integrating electric trucks into the existing drayage operations and plan investments for electric grid development.

Sujan, Vivek [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000269882342)↗

A Framework to Analyze the Requirements of a Multiport Megawatt-Level Charging Station for Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicles

Widespread adoption of heavy-duty (HD) electric vehicles (EVs) will soon necessitate the use of megawatt (MW)-scale charging stations to charge high-capacity HD EV battery packs. Such a station design needs to anticipate possible station traffic, average and peak power demand, and charging/wait time targets to improve throughput and maximize revenue-generating operations. High-power direct current charging is an attractive candidate for MW-scale charging stations at the time of this study, but there are no precedents for such a station design for HD vehicles. We present a modeling and data analysis framework to elucidate the dependencies of a MW-scale station operation on vehicle traffic data and station design parameters and how that impacts vehicle electrification. This framework integrates an agent-based charging station model with vehicle schedules obtained through real-world vehicle telemetry data analysis to explore the station design and operation space. A case study applies this framework to a Class 8 vehicle telemetry dataset and uses Monte Carlo simulations to explore various design considerations for MW-scale charging stations and EV battery technologies. The results show a direct correlation between optimal charging station placement and major traffic corridors such as cities with ports, e.g., Los Angeles and Oakland. Corresponding parametric sweeps reveal that while good quality of service can be achieved with a mix of 1.2-megawatt and 100-kilowatt chargers, the resultant fast charging time of 35–40 min will need higher charging power to reach parity with refueling times.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗