Major fleets join drive to decarbonise HGVs

Industry leaders in shipping and haulage are launching a cross-industry action group focused on the decarbonisation of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).

The new HGVzero taskforce will bring together some of Europe's largest fleets, including Coca-Cola European Partners, Tesco, XPO Logistics, Eddie Stobart and DPDgroup, to accelerate the decarbonisation of their collective fleets across the continent.

Within the first six months of the programme, HGVzero members will co-develop solutions in support from key industry collaborators to tackle the complex pinch points that have so far hindered successful low-carbon HGV rollouts.

This will include:

• Shared infrastructure mapping: To support the utilisation of charging infrastructure across common geographies and lanes
• Innovation discovery: To map the innovative transition landscape for HGVs
• Joint action plan: To prioritise and breakdown shared infrastructure barriers and co-create a deployment roadmap for viable HGV projects

Matt Pumfrey, CEO of Innovation Gateway,  said: "Decarbonisation of HGVs is a critical business challenge. Innovation and collaboration are at the heart of what we do, and by bringing the best teams in the world together to take action, we will reduce risks and costs and develop solutions for a climate positive future."

By pooling together shared experience and resources, HGVzero will look to develop a roadmap that will lead HGV transformation; including solutions to overcome costly and risky challenges around long to medium-haul vehicle and fuel technology, multi-fuel charging infrastructure, multi-modal efficiency, and value chain collaboration.

Ellen Young, director procurement & GB Lead at Coca-Cola European Partners, said: "Being a part of this collaborative action group will enable us to knowledge share and invest our resources wisely to maximise success in both short- and long-term HGV projects whilst collectively improving future HGV strategy."

Dr Nicholas Head, environmental & sustainability Lead – UK and Ireland at XPO Logistics, added: "HGV decarbonisation is a systemic critical challenge that we must address innovatively and as an industry. That's why we are particularly excited to be working with a diverse group of organisations, including our haulage peers and global shippers, to develop joint solutions that will further accelerate the sustainability of HGV transport."

Olly Craughan, head of sustainability at DPDgroup, said: "Our sector is recognised as one of the most difficult to decarbonise, and progress towards government targets so far has been slow. As part of HGVzero, we want to build on the good work DPD have already completed through working with other leading organisations to embrace new technologies and deploy more sustainable delivery options at speed."