Will road transport hit net zero? The devil is in the details

Like much of the world, Australia has set the goal of hitting net zero carbon emissions as set out by the Paris Agreement. Signed by nearly 200 countries, the collective aim is to keep global temperatures from increasing this century to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. Getting to these pre-industrial levels will be a joint effort between the government, business and the people.  

But the real question that must be answered is whether zero emissions is a realistic goal for our wide road transport industry or, as Professor Colin Herron CBE, Professor of Practice, Newcastle University (UK), special advisor to the UK government and founder of Zero Carbon Futures, outlines in the Teletrac Navman video podcast series Mobilizing the Future of Fleets, should we aim for something more like ‘net-ish zero?’

19 per cent of Australia’s total carbon emissions is from transport, and of that, road transport accounts for 38 per cent¹. While heavy vehicles make up only four per cent of the total number of vehicles on Australian roads, they account for eight per cent of all kilometres travelled. Heavy vehicles use 23 per cent of all road transport fuel consumed in Australia.

Despite what we may see when travelling on the highway, large vehicle fleets are not the norm. Locally, small and family businesses make up 98 per cent of all trucking operators, and 70 per cent of them have single vehicle fleets. In contrast, big operators with fleets of more than 100 trucks account for less than 0.5 per cent of all trucking companies.

However, what small and large fleet operators have in common is the fact that fuel makes up a large part of operational costs, from 20 per cent for short-haul through to 35 per cent for long-haul. While fuel prices are in constant flux, small operators have the most difficulty passing diesel-related expenditure increases on to their customers. This means small operators often wear the additional outlay, with the cash flow and profitability consequences that it brings.

So, what’s the answer? Can fleets decarbonise (and reduce costs) by going electric, or are there other options?

SUBHEAD: There is no easy answer to road transport sustainability 

There’s no getting around the fact that Australia is a big country with a small population concentrated mainly in urban areas along the coast, especially around the east and south. Trucks carrying goods need to travel long distances, and vehicles need a fuel range to get where they need to go within a timeframe bounded by legally mandated breaks and driver rest periods.

But Australia isn’t alone in this regard. North America, while having a population significantly larger than Australia’s, is also a large landmass while Africa has the same challenges, with the added one being insufficiently developed infrastructure for the deployment of EV charging or hydrogen refuelling stations.

The current state of battery technology does not easily lend itself to heavy vehicles. Batteries weigh a lot, so an EV truck would have to reduce its payload to stay within legislated mass limits. Then there’s the elephant in the room – charging times and range limitations. The existing state of play means that, with some minor exceptions, batteries aren’t yet suitable for long-haul vehicles.

Drill down a little, however, and things become more nuanced. Road freight tasks in Australian urban areas account for 30 to 40 per cent of total road freight, with Brisbane and Perth expected to experience volume increases of around 140 per cent by 2040.

An EV makes a lot of sense for these urban tasks. They’re generally traveling limited distances, so range is not a barrier to adoption, and they can be charged either at a hub or depot overnight, or quick-charged at infrastructure around town.

The real challenge for road transport decarbonisation is in the long-haul sector. Battery technology won’t work, and the other option, hydrogen, is a technology that’s only just coming to its potential despite its promise.

As the US Department of Energy notes: “Hydrogen is a synthetic energy carrier. Electrical energy is transferred to hydrogen by electrolysis of water. The challenge is that most of the world's current hydrogen supply is created from fossil fuels.

“High-grade electrical energy is used to produce, compress, liquefy, transport, transfer or store hydrogen. In most cases the electrical energy could be distributed directly to the end user. For all stationary applications, hydrogen competes with grid electricity. Furthermore, liquid synthetic hydrocarbons could also serve as the general energy carrier of the future.

“The hydrogen economy can establish itself only if it makes sense energetically and economically. Otherwise, better solutions will conquer the market.”

Technology has a role to play

For smaller operators, going electric is the logical solution to the challenge of decarbonisation. Regardless of fleet size, technology, in the form of telematics, is a critical sustainability pathway.

Telematics will let you optimise routes and minimise idle time, significantly reducing fuel burn. It will also allow you to coach drivers for better behaviour behind the wheel. You'll save money and reduce your carbon emissions by minimising bad habits like harsh acceleration, braking and manoeuvring using telematics. You’ll also reduce wear and tear on the vehicle, meaning it will run more efficiently, further lowering fuel use.

While diesel will be a key fuel for heavy vehicle operators in places like Australia and North America well into the future, batteries make sense for short-haul and urban routes. For both, technology like telematics will help all fleets decarbonise today.

Lay the foundation for your energy transition with Teletrac Navman’s Electric Vehicle Evaluator.

 

¹ Electric Vehicle Council’s report Electric Trucks: Keeping Shelves Stocked in a Net Zero World.