As electric truck adoption shifts from pilot programs to broader deployment, charging infrastructure remains a key barrier in the U.S. freight sector. The Electrification Coalition released a report, Electrifying the Future of Freight: Strategies to Accelerate Medium- and Heavy-Duty Charging Infrastructure Deployment, outlining policy and utility reforms to address the issue.

Based on interviews with industry stakeholders, the report identifies five primary barriers to charging deployment:

• High upfront vehicle costs that limit demand and utilization
• Complex or overly prescriptive program design
• Grid interconnection delays and capacity uncertainty
• Electricity rate structures misaligned with truck charging needs
• Fragmented and unclear local permitting processes

Policy Recommendations and Industry Context

The report outlines 11 solutions, including targeted vehicle purchase incentives, deployment of on-site energy resources, and coordinated permitting reforms. It also highlights lessons from Southern California’s electric freight hub, where ports, utilities, and local governments are coordinating efforts to scale charging infrastructure.

The Electrification Coalition will host a webinar on the report on May 14 at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT).

The report is part of the organization’s Electrification Roadmap Series, a policy and implementation guide for scaling transportation electrification. The series builds on earlier roadmaps and reflects the shift from early EV adoption to broader deployment.

“At a time when global events are driving increases in fuel prices, the United States must accelerate freight electrification to reduce dependence on oil and support economic stability,” said Ben Prochazka, executive director of the Electrification Coalition. “Electric freight has the potential to lower costs while supporting domestic manufacturing.”

“While technical challenges are being addressed, institutional and market barriers continue to slow deployment,” Prochazka added. “This report examines those barriers and identifies ways to address them.”

The full report is available on the Electrification Coalition’s website.