Hydrogen UK senior policy adviser Jon Regnart-Russell has said that hydrogen could be a “clear solution’ For the logistics sector.
As reported by City A.M. the logistics sector is struggling to transition over 300,000 heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) in the UK to zero emissions.
“Large long-haul HGVs are one of the most challenging areas for developing zero emission options due to their long journey distances, heavy payload requirements and fast refuelling requirements – making hydrogen a clear solution for the sector,” said Regnart-Russell.
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While progress is being made in consumer electric vehicles, the same progress might not be reflected in HGVs due to the weight of the batteries, charging time and pressure on the national grid.
HVS co-founder and head of design Pete Clarke said: “Brilliant headway has been made with battery technology in passenger cars and light commercial but the same progress is definitely not being seen in medium commercial… and particularly in the heavy sector.
“They run on day and repeated night shifts back-to-back so they can’t afford downtime in many cases being put on charge, so many truck operators at the moment, who are trialling greener equivalents, for instance, are having to buy in some cases “two HGVs to counter one,” he added.
The government is set to announce road trials of zero emission HGVs in the coming months, and is targeting 10GW of hydrogen production domestically by the end of the decade..
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We’re working closely with the freight and logistics sectors to help decarbonise while supporting jobs and continuing to grow the economy. To help achieve this, we’re investing in the rollout of zero emission HGVs on our roads, as well as their refuelling and recharging infrastructure.”
But whether this is enough to shift sentiment from concerned investors remains to be seen
Logistics UK deputy director of policy Michelle Gardner told City A.M. “significant uncertainty remains surrounding the most suitable alternatives, such as battery electric or hydrogen,” with hydrogen still “incredibly expensive, with a significant lack of infrastructure.”
“To be able to confidently invest, Logistics UK members urgently need government to begin road trials to determine what infrastructure is needed to support these alternatives and a clear plan from the government on how that will be implemented,” Gardner added.
