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CLIMATEWIRE | Self-driving trucks represent the future of freight transportation, advocates say. And to help ensure there is a future — at least for humanity — they argue that autonomous trucks can help fight climate change by reducing fuel consumption.
A new estimate, funded by one of the biggest players in the autonomous trucking sector, says self-driving trucks could cut fuel use 13 percent to 32 percent compared with standard diesel trucks. The findings come amid a broader campaign to build support among regulators and Congress for the technology, which backers say is getting close to reality.
The potential payoff is huge — trucking is a $1 trillion business in the U.S. alone, according to Aurora Innovation, the company that paid for the fuel-efficiency research. For freight carriers, autonomous trucking offers the promise of bigger profit margins because they won’t have to pay human drivers.
Aurora and like-minded companies such as Kodiak Robotics Inc. and Gatik AI have tested self-driving trucks for more than a year. With a safety driver behind the wheel, autonomous trucks have run routes in and around Dallas, and between points as distant as Houston, Atlanta, and El Paso.
All three companies say they plan to start making deliveries in fully autonomous trucks without a human driver sometime this year. Most states already allow self-driving trucks, either explicitly or implicitly, according to Aurora.
“As autonomous trucks make hauling freight safer, we have a responsibility to make logistics more sustainable as well,” said Garrett Bray, a product director at Aurora who wrote the paper. “Self-driving technology can fight climate change by increasing energy efficiency and reducing emissions in the supply chain.”
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A worker directs an Aurora Innovation Inc. driverless truck at the company’s terminal in Palmer, Texas, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2023. Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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