Techno-economic cell selection for battery-electric long-haul trucks

To reach cost-parity with diesel trucks, battery-electric trucks require fast-chargeable lithium-ion cells with a high energy density and cycle life, at a low specific cost. However, cells generally excel at only a fraction of these characteristics. To help select the optimal cell, we have developed the techno-economic cell selection method. The method determines the price per kilowatt-hour that is required to reach cost-parity with a diesel truck, based on the characteristics provided in a cell’s datasheet. We demonstrate the method by selecting the optimal cell out of a database containing 160 cells for a long-haul truck operating with a single driver in Germany in two scenarios: charged at 350 kW and charged at 1 MW. The results show that for trucks charged at the current maximum charging power of 350 kW, the cell price needs to drop to ca. €60 kW-1 h to reach cost-parity with a diesel truck. When 1 MW charging power is available, cost-parity can be reached at a cell price around €100 kW-1 h, which is within reach of optimistic cost estimates. However, the most cost-effective cells require more volume and result in a lower maximum payload than a diesel truck. A parameter sensitivity analysis shows that best-in-class cell energy density and packaging efficiency are required to match the payload capacity and powertrain volume of a diesel truck. The cell cycle life, cost of charging and vehicle energy consumption have the biggest impact on the cost-effectiveness of battery electric trucks.