The recently launched eFREIGHT 2030 trial will see electric HGVs pushed to their limit and prove they have a place in logistics fleets in the next decade, according to Angus Webb (pictured), the chief executive of the project’s planning software provider Dynamon.
The eFREIGHT 2030 project aims to demonstrate what electric HGVs can do in real world conditions by taking on roles that diesel trucks usually complete. It will also roll out a publicly accessible network of 1MW eHGV charging hubs across the country.
Funded by DfT in partnership with Innovate UK, the £63m trial includes Expect Distribution, Kuehne+Nagel, Maritime Transport, Menzies Distribution, Welch’s Transport and Wincanton Group, retailer Marks & Spencer, vehicle manufacturers DAF Trucks, Renault Trucks and Scania Trucks, with charging infrastructure providers Voltempo Group and Fleete Group.
Dynamon is providing the software which will allow all other partners to put the right components in place over the next 18 months before the on-the-road trials begin, including installing chargepoints in the correct place, choosing the right tractors and trailers, planning routes and identifying suitable work schedules.
It will see zero emission trucks working in front line roles, and Webb said its ZERO software will ensure operators will be able to confidently put e-HGVs on the road and not only replace diesel, but do so within acceptable operational, cost and scheduling parameters.
He said: ”This isn’t about giving electric HGVs easy routes and light schedules for demonstration purposes.It is about stress testing them in hard working environments in which they will have to deliver results. The trial will prove what happens when you max out e-HGVs on a daily basis.
“Because of that, a huge amount of planning needs to go into this project so that when they hit the road, they are maximised in terms of their performance, that the operators have the right HGV configuration for the role, and the infrastructure is in place to support them and get the job done.
“That’s where Dynamon comes in: our software can help our partners to plan exactly every element so they can push these trucks as hard as possible, and prove that when the correct strategy and support is in place, electric can work cost-effectively.”
Although the full roll out of e-HGVs in the trial happens in 2026, the next 18 months will see Dynamon working with partners to model scenarios and infrastructure needs, while some of the electric trucks are put on the road in a soft launch to provide data and insight.
“When you consider the challenges around infrastructure, there is not long before this trial is fully up and running. We need to ensure in the planning and ramp up stage that no effort is wasted. For example, there will be depots which are just not feasible to be electrified to the level required in the time and so we must identify sites which are suitable,” said Webb.
“ZERO software can do this, and we are very confident that by 2026 we will be seeing significant numbers of zero emission trucks working hard on UK roads, proving that decarbonisation and electrification can work for the HGV freight sector.”
