Empowering the sustainable future of heavy-duty commercial vehicles

The transportation industry is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by the need to reduce carbon emissions and increase energy efficiency. Heavy-duty commercial, construction, and agricultural vehicles (CAVs), such as long-haul trucks, dump trucks, buses, harvesters, tracked vehicles, and forklifts, are a significant contributor to CO₂ emissions. In fact, they account for around 27% of road transport carbon emissions in the EU. To counteract this, the EU Council has adopted the first European CO₂ emission standards for trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles, requiring manufacturers to reduce CO₂ emissions from new trucks by an average of 15% by 2025 relative to 2019 levels. Recently, the 2030 reduction target rose from 30 to 45%!

To achieve these goals, commercial vehicles will therefore evolve towards autonomous, electrified designs, supporting ranges of over 1,000 kilometers and charging speeds of just 10 minutes (for a full charge).

Enabling E/E architectures
As a global semiconductor leader, Infineon Technologies is set to play a crucial role in this transformation, enabling the development of electric/electronic (E/E) architectures with its benchmark-quality automotive portfolio designed to deliver the necessary reliability, durability, and energy efficiency.

With a strong presence in the truck market, Infineon works closely with major truck OEMs and Tier1s, engaging in close dialog to establish the automotive semiconductor technologies needed to enable emerging megatrends. In addition, there is also close cooperation with leading companies in the construction and agricultural vehicle sectors.

Closer look at CAV market sectors
The growth of the CAV semiconductor market is expected to reach more than 10% by 2030, driven by legislative initiatives aimed at promoting decarbonization in this sector. Battery-powered trucks are enjoying strong momentum, with large all-electric trucks already on the streets of Europe's inner cities. However, the rapid implementation of a corresponding charging infrastructure and the overall operating cost of a truck remain significant challenges.

Fuel-cell trucks are also expected to gain traction. Here at Infineon, we see great potential for this market segment. Our wide-bandgap (WBG) technology and dependable electronics solutions will be essential in supporting the development of both battery-powered and fuel-cell vehicles.

Rising importance of digitalization and autonomous driving

Digital innovation will also play a vital part in the future of heavy-duty commercial vehicles, particularly in fleet management. Logistics companies will need to constantly know where their trucks and cargos are at any given time. Digital technologies will deliver these insights. Other digital use cases include secure payment solutions for faster, easier transaction processing at charging stations, as well as digital travel documents for simplified border crossings. Here also, our security products within our automotive portfolio will deliver the necessary connectivity for these and other digital applications.

Autonomous driving has the potential to reduce costs, increase safety, and lower CO₂ emissions in the trucking sector. Tests are currently underway, and major truck manufacturers are partnering with third-party vendors to promote this development. It is expected that the first trips without drivers will take to the streets in the USA by 2027, initially on routes between hubs, such as from storage facilities to destination storage sites.

In conclusion, the future of heavy-duty commercial vehicles is electric, autonomous and connected – and our semiconductors will play a game-changing role in enabling this transformation!

To find out more about the transformation of the CAV market and the role of semiconductors in contributing to the decarbonization of transportation, check out a 10-minute interview with Vincent Usseglio, Director OEM business development, Infineon Technologies AG, here
or visit our website.