To achieve net zero by 2050, the UK must convert all vehicles to fossil fuel-free. However, the manufacturing companies of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) need to comply with the government plan. According to Europe’s Parliaments, all HGV manufacturers have to sell 90% of electric heavy vehicles, including buses, trucks, and other passenger transport options, by 2035. But overall, Europe’s HGV manufacturing companies, such as the Volvo Group, Daimler Truck, Traton Group, and Iveco can approximately reach 35% of electric vehicles by 2030.
The poor performance of the transition to electric vehicles in heavy industry directly impacts the environment we live in and gives rise to extreme weather patterns. Despite that, only 3% of heavy electric vehicles are dispatched on the road, where they cause 30% of emissions on roads, and as we focus on converting small vehicles into electric ones, this percentage is set to increase in the upcoming years.
UK’s Government Support
In the push for energy transition, nations around the globe are taking active steps to minimise their carbon emissions by investing in renewable energy sources & green technology. The UK is at the forefront of this cause and the UK government is on a mission to make the full transport system green, from the vehicles that enable the movement of people to goods. For this, the government introduced various greener future projects, such as giving grants for purchasing EV commercial vehicles like trucks and vans.
Additionally, the government launched a £200 million Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator plan, which will support large-scale, on-road demonstrations of hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric zero-emission HGVs.
They planned “eFreight 2030” in which the government is going to install a 321MW multi-bay charging station. Furthermore, to utilise the latest technology, the UK’s Office for Zero-Emission Vehicles (OZEV) is investing in new charging solutions, including satellite chargers, mobile charging units, and pantograph technology for on-the-move charging.
Challenges & Solutions
Like any large-scale project, moving on from the old traditional technique is not an easy task for the heavy vehicle industry. They have to compromise their profit and invest in the latest technology . But the goal is to make the UK’s future green, which is not possible without converting heavy vehicles to electric. There are certain challenges hindering the expansion and development of heavy vehicle industry, a few of which are extracted here
- The biggest challenge right now for heavy vehicles is charging ports. The rechargeable points are so far apart that truck drivers have to cope with new paths every time, which causes more amounts and wastes time. The government is working on this, but it needs to be urgent so drivers don’t have to cope with long distances during daily logistics.
- The budget is a second primary issue, as we discussed earlier; electric HGVs are expensive in comparison to diesel. However, the UK’s government is offering grants to overcome this challenge to make the adoption of the early EV fleet era easy for businesses. Furthermore, the latest technology and innovation will make electric vehicles cost-competitive through solar batteries and high mileage.
- Manufacturing electric vehicles is not as simple as other fossil fuel HGVs. The weight and complex components make this a challenging task for example, some electric vehicles have more weight than 18 tonnes. But the government is working on this and eFreight 2030 is one of the projects that will help HGV manufacturing companies.
Final Note
However, everyone knows that it’s essential to overcome these challenges for not only us but our children’s future. And by implementing these strategies, the UK aims to have 2,000 electric HGVs on its roads by 2030, potentially eliminating around 60 million litres of diesel fuel use. With all these HGVs manufacturing companies should comply with the greener policies to gain competitive advantages and stay ahead of legal regulation whenever needed in the future. In addition, significant collaboration with the manufacturers is strengthening developments in battery technology, highlighting the nation’s efforts to pave the way towards a brighter future.
