KEYNOTE PRESENTATION
Charging towards zero Delegates heard the latest moves in industry-wide efforts to hit freight’s ambitious green targets he DfT has given the strongest hint yet that it is likely to introduce a zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate for trucks in the run up to the bans on new sales of non-zero emission HGVs coming into effect in 2035 (vehicles up to 26 tonnes) and 2040 (all trucks). Speaking at the Motor Transport Decarbonisation Summit in Birmingham on 23 November, DfT deputy director for decarbonisation strategy Bob Moran said: “The Df T was looking closely at whether a ZEV mandate was appropriate for HGVs, similar to that in place for cars and vans.” Prime minister Rishi Sunak delayed the ban on sales of fossil fuelled cars and vans from 2030 to 2035 but left the ZEV mandate for these vehicles in place. This requires that 10% of all new vans sold in Great Britain in 2024 must be zero emission, rising to 24% by 2026, 70% by 2030 and 100% by 2035. While there is no equivalent phasing-in of zero-emission trucks, Moran said the end of sale dates for trucks were “locked in” and the government was committed to passing legislation implementing the bans. The European Commission’s Vecto regulations
require truck makers to cut average emissions from their products by 15% by 2025, and 30% by 2030, compared with a 2019 baseline. But Moran said that since Brexit the UK was able to take a different approach. “Don’t assume we will set six-monthly ticking-up targets,” he said.
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4 MOTOR TRANSPORT DECARBONISATION SUMMIT
Building capacity LEADING MAN: DPD head of sustainability Olly Craughan
The big barrier to adoption of battery electric trucks remains the lack of charging infrastructure and, in the absence of any promise of additional public funding on top of the £1bn Rapid Charging Fund, which is focused on expanding public charging for cars, Moran urged delegates to “impress on ChargeUK [the trade association for vehicle charge point installers and operators] the need to consider commercial vehicle charging”. Moran commended the recently announced