EPA sets heavy-duty vehicle greenhouse gas standards

WASHINGTON — New greenhouse gas pollutions standards for heavy-duty vehicles including freight trucks and buses for model years 2027 through 2032 were established March 29 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“The ‘Phase 3′ standards build on EPA’s Heavy-Duty Phase 2 program from 2016 and maintain that program’s flexible structure, which is designed to reflect the diverse nature of the heavy-duty vehicle industry,” the EPA said.

“The standards are technology-neutral and performance-based, allowing each manufacturer to choose what set of emissions control technologies is best suited for them and the needs of their customers.

“Available technologies include advanced internal combustion engine vehicles, hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, battery electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.”

These new standards apply to heavy-duty vocational vehicles such as delivery trucks, refuse haulers, public utility trucks and transit, shuttle and school buses and tractors such as day cabs and sleeper cabs on tractor-trailer trucks.

“This final rule provides more time in the early model years of the program for the development of vehicle technologies and deployment of charging and refueling infrastructure,” the EPA said.

“The final rule also includes flexibilities that will assist manufacturers in meeting the standards in the early years of the program while preserving incentives for early adoption of advanced technologies.”

Under the new rule, by model year 2032 the carbon dioxide reduction from the Phase 2 emission standards are light-heavy vocational, 60%; medium-heavy vocational, 40%; heavy-heavy vocational, 30%; day cab semi-tractors, 40%; and sleeper cab semi-tractors, 25%.

Feedback

EPA received extensive feedback on the proposed rule, including over 175,000 public comments, testimony at public hearings and engagement with stakeholder groups.

“The final standards were informed by the best available data and information in the public record and rigorous technical assessments, including consideration of the extensive public input EPA received in response to the proposed rulemaking,” the EPA said.

There is a wide variety of trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles on the road, serving a diverse array of needs and customers.

The new standards recognize the diversity of vehicle types and encourage further innovations in clean vehicle technology, enhancing options at the dealership that will also save customers, owners and operators money through reduced fuel and maintenance costs.

Under these new standards, the heavy-duty industry is expected to realize annualized savings of $3.5 billion compared to annualized costs of about $1.1 billion from 2027 through 2055.

“After accounting for the vehicle purchase tax credits provided under the Inflation Reduction Act, the typical buyer of new clean technology vocational vehicles and day cabs in 2032 when the standards are fully phased in will save money on the upfront cost of the vehicles and recoup any additional costs, such as the purchase and installation of vehicle charging equipment, in two to four years,” the EPA said.

“The typical buyer of new clean technology sleeper cab will recoup the upfront cost of a vehicle in five years. A purchaser of a heavy-duty truck in 2032 — when the standards are fully phased in — could save between $3,700 and $10,500 on fuel and maintenance costs annually, depending on vehicle type.”

“In finalizing these emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles like trucks and buses, EPA is significantly cutting pollution from the hardest working vehicles on the road,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan.

“Building on our recently finalized rule for light- and medium-duty vehicles, EPA’s strong and durable vehicle standards respond to the urgency of the climate crisis by making deep cuts in emissions from the transportation sector.”

“EPA’s standards complement President Biden’s unprecedented investment in our workers and communities to reduce harmful emissions, while strengthening our manufacturing capacity for the transportation technologies of the future,” said National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi.

“By tackling pollution from heavy-duty vehicles, we can unlock extraordinary public health, climate and economic gains.”

Reactions

The trucking industry said new emission standards for heavy-duty trucks announced by the Biden administration have unachievable targets and will carry real consequences for the U.S. supply chain and movement of freight throughout the economy.

“The American Trucking Associations opposes this rule in its current form because the post-2030 targets remain entirely unachievable given the current state of zero-emission technology, the lack of charging infrastructure and restrictions on the power grid,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear.

“Given the wide range of operations required of our industry to keep the economy running, a successful emission regulation must be technology neutral and cannot be one size fits all. Any regulation that fails to account for the operational realities of trucking will set the industry and America’s supply chain up for failure.”

While EPA’s final rule includes lower zero-emission vehicle rates for model years 2027 to 2029, ATA says forced zero-emission vehicle penetration rates in the later years will drive only battery-electric and hydrogen investment, limiting fleets’ choices with early-stage technology that is still unproven.

“The trucking industry is fully committed to the road to zero emissions, but the path to get there must be paved with common sense,” Spear said.

“While we are disappointed with this rule, we will continue to work with EPA to address its shortcomings and advance emission-reduction targets and timelines that are both realistic and durable,” American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers President and CEO Chet Thompson and American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers said in a joint statement.

“This is yet another example of the Biden administration’s whole-of-government effort to eliminate choices for American consumers, businesses and industries. There is significant uncertainty regarding the technological and infrastructure capability to comply with this rule, which may threaten the speed and cost of goods moving throughout the country.

“By moving forward with an extreme reliance on so-called heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles, this rule disincentivizes the development of other fuel-based technologies — including American-made renewable diesel — that are working in today’s heavy-duty fleet to reduce emissions more quickly and at a lower cost.

“This misguided rule should be overturned by Congress, but short of that, our organizations are prepared to explore challenges in court.”

Sean Waters, vice president of product integrity for Daimler Truck North America, thanked the agency “for addressing industry concern about the challenges of the early years of the rule and we remain committed to upholding the spirit of this regulation.”

“At Daimler Truck North America, it is our aspiration to offer only carbon-neutral new vehicles in the U.S. by 2039 and our comprehensive product portfolio of state-of-the-art trucks will ensure our customers can transition to greener transportation on the road ahead,” Waters said.

“Ultimately, the successful transition of the commercial vehicle industry is dependent on the availability of reliable zero-emission charging and refueling infrastructure and the ability to conduct business at a reasonable cost of ownership.

“We appreciate the regulation’s recognition of this fact and look forward to working with the EPA, as well as federal and state governments to deliver both.”

“The EPA’s new heavy-duty emissions rule is challenging, but Ford is working aggressively to meet the moment. Our industry is making important progress to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in both light- and heavy-duty vehicles,” said Cynthia Williams, global director for sustainability for Ford Motor Company.

“We also need policymakers to pair emission standards with incentives and public investment so that we can continue to deliver on the next generation of vehicles and for our nation to lead the future of this industry.”