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dannoGB68 t1_ixlet72 wrote

Reply to comment by adventure_in_gnarnia in This mining tractor developed by Caterpillar is completely battery-operated by redhatGizmo

I’ve worked for a very large trucking company for 25 years. I’m very aware. Current range is about 200 miles. That’s about 4 hrs for an OTR driver. What do you do for the rest of his 11 hour shift? Sit him while the truck recharges or swap batteries and go?

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g1aiz t1_ixlwrek wrote

Designwerk just showed a 40t one with 360miles range fully loaded. We are getting there.

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Tarcye t1_ixlyh0a wrote

The Problem isn't range it's weight. For EV semi trucks to be viable they have to weigh around as much as ICE ones.

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swords-and-boreds t1_ixm4gl8 wrote

Tesla are making a 300 mile one and a 500 mile one. First deliveries to Frito Lay are in December. They’re also setting up a Megacharger network. Drive 4-8 hours, park for an hour, then a second leg. It’s becoming viable.

Edit: for accuracy, it looks like Tesla are not doing an entire megacharger network but rather installing them at client locations. In light of that, these trucks may remain more for regional hauling than cross-country. But if someone were to put chargers at truck stops, they’d work for both.

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adventure_in_gnarnia t1_ixlfcp2 wrote

Range will continue to increase. But yea there’s still a lot of infrastructure and logistics to work out.

Just pointing out its drastically different duty cycles compared to a 3-shift manufacturing environment

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