New Zemo life cycle report cautions against rush to zero

A report released last week by Zemo Partnership has shed some significant light on the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) across a range of vehicles, powertrains and fuel/energy pathways. The report cautions against the dash to zero tailpipe emission vehicles and makes a powerful case for the very important role low carbon renewable fuels can play in the decarbonisation of the commercial vehicle and road freight sector, particularly in the short to medium term. It’s lukewarm on battery electric, certainly until the electricity grid is fully renewable, and is similarly reserved about hydrogen until low carbon, green hydrogen comes on stream.

Ever since we launched Freight Carbon Zero, we’ve been concerned the UK road freight sector is missing an opportunity to dent its carbon emissions. The apparent obsession with zero emissions at the tailpipe, means the low carbon solutions, available now, are getting ignored. This in-depth, 48-page report, underlines how crucial it is for the policy makers to take into account the whole life cycle analysis of the vehicles, and for fleet buyers to make a fully informed decision about the decarbonisation options open to them.

We’ve spoken previously about the non-financial reporting requirements for transport operators to be measuring and managing their carbon emissions. That reporting, for your Scope 1 direct emissions, will need to take into account the whole life cycle emissions analysis and not just those coming from the tailpipe. That’s why this stuff matters, and this analysis shows the industry, and government, could be leaving some serious carbon reduction options on the table if it doesn’t embrace low carbon renewable fuels in its policy making.

As a quick side note, low-carbon renewable liquid and gaseous fuels are fuels that are produced sustainably from municipal or organic waste, sustainable biomass, renewables and circular CO2. They are of non-fossil origin and emit no, or very little, additional CO2 during their production and use. For this, read FAME, HVO, Bio-methane etc… all fuels which are readily available today and with a growing distribution network. What’s more, most, if not all the current trucks available on the road can run on bio-diesel, although FAME blends above B30 may require increased service intervals, and most of the truck builders have a gas product in their line-up.

We know zero emission (at the tailpipe) vehicles are the end game if we want a carbon-free sector, but there is huge investment required in renewable electricity to make battery electric and/or hydrogen the net zero nirvana that’s craved and we should face up to the fact that is going to take time to build. And while it is being developed, the industry should be encouraged to embrace renewable fuels.

As the report explains, for this to be successful, the policy makers will need to guard against a shortage of feedstock. Already you can hear shouts from some quarters that the aviation sector will need the renewable fuel feedstock for its sustainable aviation fuel. In the short to medium term this should be ignored. The greenhouse gas emissions from aviation, while they snatch the headlines, are tiny by comparison to the road freight fleet and if government is serious about decarbonising the road fleet, this is a junction where trucks must have priority.

Perhaps some of this will come out in the much-awaited “Low Carbon Fuels Strategy” which increasingly seems to be the latest can kicked down the road, though we remain hopeful this will see the light of day soon.

Zemo outlines two key measures which should be taken to increase the uptake of higher blends of renewable diesel and biodiesel for trucks:

“Firstly, the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) targets will need to be increased, to ensure there is an incentive to supply higher blends as the demand for diesel falls over time.

“Secondly, a fiscal incentive, such as a reduction in fuel duty for renewable fuels, would help fleet operators with very tight financial margins make the switch to low carbon fuels, which are currently more expensive than diesel – either in terms of the cost per litre, or in terms of costs for modifying and maintaining the vehicles and fuelling infrastructure.”

Amen to that…