每日英語跟讀 Ep.K373: Truck Makers Face Choice: Go Battery or Hydrogen？

Even before war in Ukraine sent fuel prices through the roof, the trucking industry was under intense pressure to kick its addiction to diesel, a major contributor to climate change and urban air pollution. But it still has to figure out which technology will best do the job.

在烏克蘭戰爭導致燃料價格飆漲之前，卡車運輸業就面臨擺脫柴油成癮的巨大壓力，但它仍須弄清楚哪種技術最能勝任此事。柴油是氣候變遷與城市空汙的主要原因。

Truck makers are divided into two camps. One faction, which includes Traton, Volkswagen’s truck unit, is betting on batteries because they are widely regarded as the most efficient option. The other camp, which includes Daimler Truck and Volvo, the two largest truck manufacturers, argues that fuel cells

that convert hydrogen into electricity — emitting only water vapor — make more sense because they would allow long-haul trucks to be refueled quickly.

卡車製造商分為兩個陣營，包括福斯卡車部門Traton在內的一派看好電池，因電池被廣泛認為是最有效率的選項。另一個陣營則包括戴姆勒卡車和富豪這兩家最大的卡車製造公司，他們認為將氫轉化為電能僅排放水蒸氣的燃料電池更有意義，因為它們可讓長途卡車快速充電。

The choice companies make could be hugely consequential, helping to determine who dominates trucking in the electric vehicle age and who ends up wasting billions of dollars on the Betamax equivalent of electric truck technology, committing a potentially fatal error. It takes years to design and produce new trucks, so companies will be locked into the decisions they make now for a decade or more.

這些公司做出的選擇可能會帶來重大影響，並且有助於確認在電動車時代，誰將主宰卡車運輸業以及誰最終會在電動卡車版的Betamax技術浪費數十億美元，犯下潛在致命錯誤。設計和生產新的卡車需耗時數年，因此企業在未來10年或更長時間裡，將受制於現在做出的決定。

“It’s obviously one of the most important technology decisions we have to make,” said Andreas Gorbach, a member of the management board of Daimler Truck, which owns Freightliner in the United States and is the largest truck maker in the world.

全球卡車製造龍頭戴姆勒卡車的管理層成員哥爾巴赫說：「這顯然是我們必須做出的最重要技術決策之一。」該公司在美國擁有福萊納卡車品牌。

The stakes for the environment and for public health are also high. If many truck makers wager incorrectly, it could take much longer to clean up trucking than scientists say we have to limit the worst effects of climate change. In the United States, medium- and heavy-duty trucks account for 7% of greenhouse gas emissions.

環境和公眾健康面臨的風險也很高。若許多卡車製造商押錯寶，清理卡車運輸業所需的時間，恐比科學家所說人類必須限制氣候變遷最壞影響的時限還要長。在美國，中型與重型卡車占溫室氣體排放量的7%。

Although sales of electric cars are exploding, large truck makers have only begun to mass-produce emission-free vehicles. Daimler Truck, for example, began producing an electric version of its heavy-duty Actros truck, with a maximum range of 240 miles, late last year. Tesla unveiled a design for a battery-powered semitruck in 2017 but has not set a firm production date.

儘管電動車銷量爆炸性成長，但大型卡車製造商才剛開始大規模生產零碳排車輛，例如戴姆勒卡車公司去年底開始生產重型卡車Actros的電動版本，最大行駛里程達240英里。特斯拉在2017年發布一款電池動力的卡車Semi，但具體生產日期未定。

Cost will be a decisive factor. Unlike car buyers, who might splurge on a vehicle because they like the way it looks or the status it conveys, truck buyers carefully calculate how much a rig is going to cost them to buy, maintain and refuel.

價格將會是一項決定性因素。卡車買家會仔細計算整套配備的價格、維護及補充燃料費用，不像汽車買家，可能會因為喜歡車的外觀或者能夠顯示他們的地位而揮霍。Source article: https://udn.com/news/story/6904/6260402