Time for trucks: The next big thing in the shift to climate-friendly transport

While our roads are increasingly abuzz with electric cars and scooters, low-emission trucks are conspicuous by their absence. But this is about to change as new climate targets force sharp emission cuts in heavy duty transport. The truckmaking industry has woken up to the challenge, and is scrambling to present zero-emission models. Evidence is mounting fast that many trucks will also go battery-electric in the longer term, while fuel cells, catenary systems and synthetic fuels remain in the race. But solely relying on new propulsion technologies will not be enough to clean up the sector in the short term. Polluting trucks are here to stay for many years, forcing attention on alternative ways to cut emissions, such as using smart logistics to lower the number of unnecessary trips, transport more goods on rails, or increasing fuel efficiency by redesigning trucks. Read the analysis here.

Battery-electric trucks are set to take over heavy duty road freight because they are much cheaper to run than other low-emission technologies, says green vehicle expert Auke Hoekstra, a researcher at Eindhoven University of Technology. Trucks equipped with fuel cells or using e-fuels will never be able to compete with electric trucks' business case, forecasts Hoekstra in this interview. Catenary trucks could be a viable alternative, but it will be hard to get the technology off the ground on a large scale, argues Hoekstra, who is also programme director at NEON Research and founder of ZEnMo simulations. His strong Twitter presence has earned Hoekstra a reputation as transport decarbonisation's "debunker-in-chief". Read the interview here.