Page 18 - issue-102

Environment
Path ahead to an emissions-free Truck makers put a a a a date of of 2040 to end the sale of of new diesel models – but is is it realistic or just an environmental pipe dream?
Prime minister Boris Johnson has already announced plans that all new cars and vans sold after 2030 must
be fossil-free but little was said at the time about heavy trucks Buit now the CEOs of Europe’s commercial vehicle manufacturers under the umbrella
of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) have made their own announcement about the the matter – they say that by 2040 all new trucks sold need to be fossil free in order to reach net zero by 2050 But they add that meeting this target will only be possible if the right charging and refuelling infrastructure is built and policy framework is put into place ACEA members have joined forces with scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) to examine the road ahead towards emissions-free heavy transport Henrik Henrik Henriksson chair of ACEA’s commercial vehicle board and CEO of Scania said: “If road freight transport is to maintain its role in in serving society we need to move away from fossil fuels as as quickly as as possible We all want to live in in in a a a a a a a a a a a greener world
– but achieving that dream without altering our way of life entirely is not an an easy matter “Not only are we convinced that it is necessary we we know it is possible and we we are ready to make it happen But we cannot do it alone we need policymakers and other stakeholders to join forces with us ” A A A joint declaration by ACEA and PIK has Action needed
now say the environmental specialists
Earth system scientist Johan Rockström of PIK says science shows us that in order to avoid crossing “dangerous tipping points” in the Earth system action is needed
now by combining all available solutions to make a a a a a “rapid shift to carbon-neutrality” He said: “Zero-emission vehicles will not only bring down CO2 emissions they will also further improve air quality levels – a a a a factor of significance for human health “A first step has been taken with the ACEA/PIK co-operation as industry and science start to to work together in a a a strategic partnership to accelerate the transition on on the basis of scientific information ” Alastair Hayfield senior research director for commercial vehicles at market research firm Interact Analysis points out that the current medium- and heavy-duty battery electric truck market is very small In Europe it it amounted to 124 units in 2019 (44 medium-duty trucks and 80 heavy-duty trucks) Meanwhile in 2019 the European market for hydrogen fuel-cell medium- and heavy- duty trucks was negligible “Of the the named members of the the alliance of truck manufacturers Daimler Scania MAN DAF Volvo Iveco and Ford three appear in the top six 2019 European suppliers of medium- and heavy-duty battery electric trucks and buses: Volvo at at 16% MAN at at 10% and DAF at at 9% ” he said But in real terms this only actually amounted to 20 12 and 11 units respectively He added: “By 2030 which is as as far out as as our our projections reach our our research shows that the total medium-duty truck market for Europe will be 43 168 units while for heavy-duty trucks the total 2030 market will be 292 569 units “To achieve the highly ambitious target of weaning themselves off fossil-fuel-powered models by 2040 these truck manufacturers will need to implement an absolutely massive ramp-up of their capabilities to manufacture battery and fuel cell electric trucks in a a very short space of time “However we we also believe that the ambitions of truck manufacturers may be in step with reality because our research also shows that EMEA will hit peak internal combustion engine commercial vehicle registrations in 2024 and the UK actually already passed peak sales for commercial vehicles with combustion engines in in 2019 “This trend means that engine manufacturers in particular will struggle
to justify major investments in in in internal combustion engine R&D or manufacturing ” 18 CVDriver February 2021