TRL, an international center for innovation in transportation and mobility, has won the Highways England and Department for Transport (DfT) bid to conduct a study into zero emission HGV technologies as part of the UK government’s wider Road to Zero strategy.
TRL will investigate a range of solutions to achieve zero emissions for heavy-goods vehicles, evaluating the technologies available to implement an effective program leading to the elimination of emissions.
This project – due for completion in February 2019 – will underpin one of the main freight goals within the government’s Road to Zero report, to significantly reduce carbon and air quality emissions from long-haul HGV movements by 2040.
TRL’s role will be to identify and appraise potential zero-emission HGV technologies, informed by a scientifically rigorous literature review and a range of stakeholder engagement exercises to obtain a comprehensive and detailed understanding of the technology options available.
This will culminate in criteria for the assessment of the technologies which will be included in the strategic outline business case (SOBC). Alongside this, TRL will be undertaking a program to identify recommended R&D activities, including full-scale demonstrators for the technologies emerging from the SOBC. The final project report will identify the activities required by external stakeholders.
“The study into zero emission HGV technologies will provide an essential first step toward a solution leading to a critical improvement in air quality as well as a significant movement towards the government’s Road to Zero goals,” explained Gavin Bailey, technical and business development manager for TRL.
“Our review and appraisal of existing technologies will include battery and hydrogen fuel cells and extend to include innovative solutions such as dynamic (in-motion) road charging techniques. Overall, the assessment will be framed with regards to the value for money to all relevant stakeholders, including infrastructure operators, freight operators, UK government, and UK Plc.”
