Zero-Emission Heavy Goods Vehicles

Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) are vital to industry and represent the backbone of trade and commerce worldwide. They are responsible for ensuring we have access to food, medicines, and goods of all kinds.

Almost 90% of domestic goods transported in the UK in 2022 were moved by road – the vast majority of which by heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). These vehicles currently produce approximately 19% of all UK domestic transport greenhouse gas emissions. By 2050, this must be reduced to zero, in line with the UK Government’s Net Zero Strategy.

Connected Places Catapult is supporting Innovate UK and the Department for Transport with the Zero-Emission HGVs & Infrastructure Demonstration programme, which represents a public investment of up to £200 million, match-funded by industry. The programme will see the launch of the first large (40+ tonne) zero-emission HGVs in significant numbers, together with supporting infrastructure, which will enable freight operators to determine the suitability of the new technology for their operations. Public-facing battery-electric charging stations and hydrogen refuelling stations will enable HGVs to go beyond ‘back to base’ operations.

Further information regarding the programme can be found here and a full list of the winning consortia partners has been published here. Hear more from the Department for Transport and Innovate UK as discussed at our Connected Places Summit in March 2024.

The programme was further discussed at the Road Transport Expo in June 2024, as reported here.

Together with BSI, Connected Places Catapult is supporting partners involved in the Innovate UK-funded demonstrations and stakeholders in the wider zero-emission HGV ecosystem.

There are four strands to our DfT-funded project.

• • Standards – in partnership with BSI
  • Commercial and Investment Strategy
  • Safety and Security Best Practice
  • Infrastructure Planning Best Practice

Standards – in partnership with BSI

Standards are crucial in ensuring zero-emission HGVs can roll out in an efficient and safe manner, with interoperability embedded from the start, and to create a market that delivers on required outcomes. Through the standards work, in partnership with BSI, we have formed a Standards Advisory Group for zero-emission road freight that will provide the decision making and governance for the standards development work. Three ‘flex’ standards, which are well suited to fast-moving areas of innovation, are currently being developed.

Further to the publication of the Zero Emission HGVs and Infrastructure Standards Prioritization Report, we’re pleased to announce that the following standards have been released as part of our project:

• BSI Flex 2071 – Publicly Accessible Charging Sites for Battery Electric HGVs.

BSI Flex 2071 offers recommendations on how to design charging sites for battery electric HGVs, including safety considerations and optimal layouts.

• BSI Flex 2072 v1.0 – Workshops for Zero Emission Heavy-Duty Vehicles

Specification for operating workshops, inspection, and maintenance of battery electric and hydrogen-fuelled heavy-duty vehicles.

Further background on our standards work can be viewed here, and at the video below, in which Mateo Novati and Brian Robinson presented to our Connected Places Summit in March 2024.

Commercial and Investment Strategy

The public / private investment through the programme is crucial in helping to bring stakeholders together and roll out the initial vehicles and infrastructure, but it is just a starting point. Much more finance will be needed to fully transition the 600,000 HGVs across the UK and the millions around the world. These investments will ultimately be offset by reduced total cost of ownership with lower fuel costs, increased driver satisfaction and improved sustainability as we move towards circular supply chains. We are speaking to the UK-based and international investor ecosystem to create a long-term and sustainable programme of decarbonisation. We intend to create a trade and investment bridge for the programme, raise the profile of UK-led activities to local and international markets and position the UK as a thought leader and green partner of choice.

Safety and Security Best Practice

Safety and security of refuelling our vehicles should not be taken for granted. While this work happens largely behind the scenes, the measures recommended in the Report should be implemented to make operations as safe as possible.

As fossil fuels are phased out, we need to make sure that battery electric charging and hydrogen refuelling operations are safe. This Report highlights the preventative and mitigation measures associated with potential hazards from the introduction of zero-emission HGVs and supporting infrastructure. The Report signposts stakeholders to the relevant legislation, standards and codes of practice to enable implementation and the transition to zero emission HGVs and their infrastructure in a safe and efficient manner.

This Report acts as a call to action, inviting comments from industry prior to a final issue published in 2025. If you would like to provide any feedback on knowledge gaps, priority areas or have a general interest in this work, please get in touch with Tom Marsh, Systems Engineer, tom.marsh@cp.catapult.org.uk

Infrastructure Planning Best Practice

Planning and regulatory hurdles are a key barrier to wide-scale infrastructure deployment for zero emission HGVs.  We will shortly be publishing a reference document for stakeholders involved in planning, design and roll out of battery-electric charging and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure.

We will consider the overall system of HGV charging / refuelling, and the decisions needed from the earliest concept stage through to operations. Our scope includes barriers, existing and emerging guidance, charging/refuelling location, the planning and regulatory landscape, funding and case studies.

Connected Places Catapult Associate Brian Macey discussed the importance of a well planned and secure HGV charging and refuelling network at our Summit in March 2024.

Joined Up Thinking

Our subject areas overlap considerably. For example, one of the biggest safety concerns is allocating sufficient space for public HGV refuelling/recharging facilities, which has an impact on the financing of the site and on the infrastructure planning. We will consider these interdependencies in our reporting, and would welcome further discussion with other sectors.

How do I get involved?

If you’d like to find out more, please email us at zeroemissionroadfreight@cp.catapult.org.uk.

Phase 1 reports

These reports were produced in previous phases of the zero-emission road freight programme. Some material is currently being updated, as described above.