The three-year comparative programme will begin later this year to help decarbonise the UK’s freight industry, with initial competitions for battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell technology launching shortly.
The demonstrations will help gather evidence on the future refuelling and recharging infrastructure needed to drive the smooth transition to a zero-emission freight sector by 2050.
Transport Minister Trudy Harrison said: “The demonstrations will help the UK’s freight sector reduce its reliance on fossil fuels by finding which zero emission technologies are best suited to the heaviest road vehicles in the UK.”
An open-call competition will be launched for manufacturers, energy providers and fleet and infrastructure operators to showcase their green technology on UK roads. This will begin with demonstrations of battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell HGVs.
The announcement expands the Department for Transport’s (DfT) £20 million zero emission road freight trials which ran last year, delivered by Innovate UK. As part of these trials, commercial vehicle manufacturer Leyland Trucks rolled out 20 DAF battery electric HGVs for use by public sector organisations, including the NHS and local authorities, to support the uptake of battery electric trucks, enabling learning to be gathered from field testing vehicles in a real-world, real-time logistics environment.
This project, along with six successful feasibility studies, helped prepare for the demonstrations, which will take place at scale over the coming years.
In related news, DfT is consulting with industry to identify potential exemptions to the 2035 phase out date for HGVs, weighing 26 tonnes and under, which may need longer to transition to zero emission technologies. The call for evidence will last until 22 July 2022 and is available via https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/exempt...