CStore Decisions January 2022 Digital Edition is sponsored by GSK.

As Washington pushes fuel economy, EVs draw the spotlight, with alternative fuels and improved engine technology set to play bigger roles in moving America.

Electric vehicles are grabbing the headlines. Auto manufacturers like Ford have committed to an all-electric F-150 pickup truck, while convenience store chains, concerned about the future of fuel sales, are exploring options for installing electric vehicle charging (EVC) stations. Carbon neutral remains a buzz-phrase hanging over the oil industry, while the Biden administration released new minimum fl eet fuel economy standards.

For John Eichberger, president of the Fuels Institute, based in Alexandria, Va., the main players in the fuel, auto and renewable energy industries are asking the wrong questions. Today’s fuel landscape is much more complicated than doing away with the internal combustion engine (ICE), making all passenger cars and trucks EVs.

Many global leaders, he explained, have adopted a simplistic soundbite of electrified transportation. That’s their goal. That’s their solution.

“They’re trying to apply that across the board, and it’s not going to work,” Eichberger said. “We need to have a much more strategic and diverse strategy that takes into careful consideration use-case scenarios and applies the right strategy where it needs to be applied. Will they do it? I don’t know.”

The question Eichberger believes leaders should be asking is: “What types of policies promote more rapid decarbonization?”

Electric vehicles are merely one option, especially for passenger cars and trucks. But what about the other vehicles on the road? Electrification for medium and heavy-duty vehicles may not be the best option for all vehicle types.