Electric.  Hydrogen.  Hybrid.  E85.  Ethanol.  Natural gas.  Biodiesel.  Good ol' gasoline.  The list goes on.  There's an ever-growing list of things we've been using as fuel over the last few years, and the market's still trying to shake out just what the standard is going to be in the future.  There's a lot to it, and if you're planning to make a switch to something other than gasoline, there's quite a bit to consider. 

Why Alternative fuels?

The phrase itself brings to mind lots of things, and most of those things are pretty nebulous and not particularly well-defined, unless you do your homework--which is pretty important, especially if you're contemplating making a switch to alternative fuels, regardless of whether you're an owner/operator or if you're in charge of a large fleet. 

There are many reasons to consider switching to alternative fuels.  Petroleum-based fuel is the 2nd largest cost for trucking companies.  The possibility of being able to re-use that fuel in some way (or in any way, for that matter) means that you're cutting costs somewhere, or at least helping someone cut costs somewhere. 

Alternative fuels also may reduce our dependence on foreign oil--and oil in general, for that matter.  This is something that's come up a lot in the world of politics, of course--and it's a shame that the trucking industry doesn't come up in these conversations more, especially since commercial trucks account for about 20 percent of highway fuel consumption in the U.S.

it's certainly important to consider the environment and to "be green," so to speak, but if you're not staying conscious about your costs and benefits, you're cutting into your bottom line.  And nobody wants that. 

What's out there for the trucking/shipping industry?

So what's out there and plausible for the trucking industry?  If you want to get into pipe dreams and "possibilities," we could be here all day.  In terms of plausibility, though, we're looking at a limited number of alternative fuels. 

Natural gas: With a little bit of infrastructure change, namely a move to increase the number of stations and with a stronger commitment from truck manufacturers to make more Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs), this is something we could see. 

E85/Ethanol/Flex Fuel: There are vans available that run on E85, but as far as I'm aware, there isn't anything currently out there for larger commercial trucks--surely because E85 and ethanol tends to be an alternate solution for standard fuels as opposed to diesels.  Also, the number of gas stations carrying e85 can be limited from state to state. 

Biodiesel: Biodiesel is plausible and fairly easy to convert for a standard diesel engine.  Of all the alternative fuel options being talked about over the last few years, this seems like the most plausible and useful for the trucking industry, biodiesel seems to be the most promising.

Electric and Electric Hybrids: There are designs for commercial vehicles, but there's not much beyond ideas.  Implementation seems to be quite a way away, especially with the state of batteries at this point--which is to say, they're reasonable for passenger vehicles, but big rigs?  Not so much. 

So, in looking at these options, we can see that Natural gas vehicles and trucks that can run on biodiesel are among the most promising horizons for alternative fuels in the trucking industry.  Let's take a quick glance at the advantages and disadvantages they offer. 

Natural gas vehicles