Research

Autonomous Trucks Can Reduce Emissions and Fight Climate Change

Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ: AUR) has released a white paper indicating that autonomous trucking has the potential for significant environmental benefits. The paper finds that autonomous trucking could increase energy efficiency by up to 32% relative to traditional trucking – helping the freight and logistics industry reduce emissions, meet environmental regulatory mandates, and bring down operating costs.

Transportation is a Significant Source of Emissions

Transportation makes up approximately 29% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and, of this, medium and heavy duty trucks account for 23%. In some freight-heavy states, this number is even greater – transportation causes approximately 50% of greenhouse gas emissions in California.

Autonomous Trucking Technology Can Help Fight Climate Change

There is a need for new technologies that reduce freight transportation’s negative impact on climate change. As Aurora advances toward driverless commercial operations, the company has examined ways to maximize the environmental benefits of autonomous trucks. The white paper identifies seven opportunities to use autonomous trucking to make freight transportation more energy efficient, including*:

• Optimizing Highway Speeds: Autonomous trucks are not limited by hours-of-service restrictions, meaning there is less incentive to drive at high speeds to reach their destination faster. This enables lower speed driving that consumes less fuel per mile. Aurora’s approach of driving 65 mph instead of 70-75 mph on the highway could reduce highway fuel consumption by 9%-17%.
• Limiting Idling: Today’s trucks often consume fuel by idling when drivers take breaks to rest, eat, or relax between hauls. This represents 4%-9% of fuel consumption. While autonomous trucks cannot completely eliminate idling, they could better maximize driving time.
• Eco-Driving: Significant automotive energy usage comes from inefficient acceleration and braking. Autonomous trucks are capable of eco-driving – strategically optimizing acceleration, braking, and coasting to increase energy efficiency and reduce fuel consumption. One study cited in the white paper found increased strategic coasting could lead to 9.5% fuel savings.
• Traffic Reduction: Because autonomous trucks can operate nearly 24 hours per day, they can shift a greater proportion of freight to off-peak driving hours. Not only would this reduce autonomous trucks’ fuel consumption by decreasing time stuck in traffic, shifting a portion of truck traffic to off-peak hours would help reduce congestion and fuel consumption for other vehicles.

Additionally, the white paper explains how the introduction of autonomous trucks into the supply chain can be a longer-term catalyst for accelerated adoption of next-generation powertrains, like battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell platforms, given the following: