Coincidentally, Hydro-Québec and the Innovative Vehicle Institute (IVI) both chose Tuesday to hold an event on their own aimed at convincing companies to electrify their fleets of heavy vehicles. If the moment chosen is anecdotal, the target is less so: heavy trucks are the biggest producers of greenhouse gases on wheels.
And contrary to what one might think, most heavy trucks can be electrified without loss of efficiency for the operator, assures the director of the IVI, François Adam. “Electric heavy-duty vehicles are a realistic way to decarbonize” trucking, he told the To have to on the sidelines of a training day which brought together a few dozen representatives of the sector. “In Quebec, approximately 60% of the trips made by these vehicles take place in an urban situation within a radius of less than 160 kilometers per day. »
Heavy goods vehicles emit nearly two-thirds of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) of the Quebec transportation sector, which is also the largest generator of air pollution in the province. To achieve its GHG reduction targets, Québec has an interest in targeting this sector, which is in a way the most polluting among the most polluting.
As one might suspect, given the rising popularity of electric vehicles, the curiosity of businesses is great and the questions numerous. But the latter quickly highlight what seems to be the main pitfall of the electrification of transport, so desired by the Quebec government. “The biggest problem is the lack of infrastructure,” continues François Adam. We need charging stations for heavy vehicles. We also need to better explain the technology to company vehicle fleet managers to help them make the right decision. »
With days like Tuesday, the IVI is launching an information campaign that should last three years. The institute based in Saint-Jérôme will then choose about thirty companies with which to build tailor-made electrification plans, which will then serve as case studies. A third and final step will be to lend electric trucks for 30 days to these companies to determine the feasibility of electrifying their own fleet.
The program is funded by the Ministry of the Environment, which awarded $1.2 million to the IVI in 2021 as part of its Action-Climat program.
The project will take a few more years to come to an end, especially since the decarbonization targets for heavy transport are further away than those for the rest of the sector. From 2035, only zero-emission light-duty vehicles can be sold in Canada. For heavy goods vehicles, the deadline is 2040, and again, the measure will not apply to all types of vehicles.
A first truck charging station in Laval
Just 20 minutes by highway from where the IVI let some 70 participants drive an electric truck signed Lion, Peterbilt or Volvo for the first time, Hydro-Québec inaugurated on Tuesday in Laval a charging station designed to accommodate these oversized vehicles and their trailers.
Again, this station is part of a pilot project aimed at determining the uses of electric heavy trucks and the behavior of owners.
The state-owned company has set itself the objective of building between 15 and 20 stations across the province by 2024. “Our objective is to stimulate the development of electric transport, explains in a press release France Lampron, director of the development of energy offers and mobility at Hydro-Québec. The next few years will see many types of electric vehicles hitting our roads. We intend to be on top of things in terms of charging in order to give the necessary impetus to the market. »
The next truck charging station should be, according to a spokesperson for the Crown corporation, “at the other end of Highway 20” – in the Quebec region, therefore. Laval was chosen to host the first because the City already uses electric vehicles: it thus represents what could become the norm by 2040 in many other municipalities.