A white paper from Aurora Innovation examines how autonomous
trucking technology can increase energy efficiency and reduce
emissions in the freight and logistics industry
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:
- Faster Return on Investment: New powertrains will likely
have higher upfront costs, and the lower operating costs and higher
utilization of autonomous trucks could enable faster returns on
those investments.
- Better Range Management: Because autonomous trucks are
not restricted by hours-of-service limitations, they can better
manage range and charging/fueling limitations of next-generation
platforms.
- Fixed Routes: The fixed route model of deploying
autonomous trucks supports focused installation of charging/fueling
infrastructure along these routes.
Aurora is Developing Safe, Efficient, and Sustainable
Autonomous Trucks
“As autonomous trucks make hauling freight safer, we have a
responsibility to make logistics more sustainable as well.
Self-driving technology can fight climate change by increasing
energy efficiency and reducing emissions in the supply chain,”
shared Garrett Bray, the author of the white paper. Bray is a
Product Director at Aurora, and holds a PhD in Engineering and a
Masters in Engineering for Sustainable Development from the
University of Cambridge.
For carriers, autonomous trucks’ more efficient fuel consumption
could reduce operating costs, and reductions in emissions would
help meet federal and state environmental regulatory mandates. For
more information on how Aurora prioritizes safety and efficiency,
visit www.aurora.tech.
*The fuel consumption metrics for optimizing highway speeds,
limiting idling, and eco-driving are not additive, and are
independent of the autonomous trucking energy efficiency
calculation included at the top of this press release. More
information on these metrics can be found in the white paper.
About Aurora
Aurora (Nasdaq: AUR) is delivering the benefits of self-driving
technology safely, quickly, and broadly to make transportation
safer, increasingly accessible, and more reliable and efficient
than ever before. The Aurora Driver is a self-driving system
designed to operate multiple vehicle types, from freight-hauling
trucks to ride-hailing passenger vehicles, and underpins Aurora’s
driver-as-a-service products for trucking and ride-hailing. Aurora
is working with industry leaders across the transportation
ecosystem, including Continental, FedEx, Hirschbach, PACCAR, Ryder,
Schneider, Toyota, Uber, Uber Freight, Volvo Trucks, and Werner. To
learn more, visit www.aurora.tech.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the federal securities laws. The words
“believe,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “plan,” “indicate,”
“potentially,” “likely,” and similar expressions and variations
thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but
are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. All
statements contained in this press release that do not relate to
matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking
statements, including but not limited to, statements regarding our
goals, predictions, objectives, and expected results.
Forward-looking statements are based on current assumptions that
are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual
results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements,
including the risks and uncertainties more fully described in our
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our
Form 10-Ks, Form 10-Qs and Form 8-Ks filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Aurora undertakes no obligation to update or
revise publicly any forward-looking statements, except as required
by applicable law.
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in this press release concerning our industry and the market in
which we operate, including our general expectations, market
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240430871422/en/
Media: Jake Martin press@aurora.tech
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