http://www.truckingmag.co.uk Summer 2019 TRUCKING 7Euro 6 halves truck NOx output in five years
W
hile global freight operator Rhenus
has confirmed its commitment to
electric vans, adopting e-LCVs to
fulfil the delivery of goods in Germany, the
company has said it believes the future of
electric trucks in the UK “is less clear”.
“While the impact of London’s ultra-low
emission zone is filtering through the transport
sector, we think it will be infrastructure and
technology challenges, not legislation, which will
ultimately determine the fate of long-range
electric HGVs,” said Gary Dodsworth, UK
director, Rhenus. “Most transport experts think
the market is not ready to embrace pure EV
trucks here in the UK.”
According to Rhenus, the biggest challenge for
EV trucks will be the development of cost-
effective, lightweight batteries with the required
public charging infrastructure to support them.
For the HGV market to ever switch to pure EV,
batteries will need to deliver the equivalent range
and payload capacity of a conventional tractorunit, it said – and this will require battery
developers to make enormous strides over the
next few years.
Beyond this, it will require logistics companies
to install large rapid-charging points at depots.
Rhenus said while EV trucks “are grabbing
headlines”, this technology “is not the only game
in town”. Indeed, it pointed to engineers from
automotive engineering and development
consultancy Horiba Mira, who think there willalways be a place for Euro 6 diesel-powered
trucks – particularly those carrying heavy loads
on long journeys.
While electricity seems to be gaining wide
acceptance for urban vans, gas-power seems to
offer a viable way ahead for trucks that don’t
undertake city deliveries, Rhenus pointed out.
Trucks fuelled with gas have cleaner
characteristics than those powered by diesel,
and the upfront cost of producing gas-fuelled
trucks is cheaper than diesel.
Looking further ahead, Rhenus said it will not
discount the possibility of duel-fuelling or even
hydrogen as potential fuel sources for HGVs.
However, the challenges of infrastructure,
refuelling and investment make it more attractive
to public transport and refuse trucks.
“While we will be using EV vans on these
shores in the future, whether that extends to
battery-powered, long-distance HGVs becoming
a common sight on the UK motorway network
remains unlikely,” Dodsworth concluded.Fresh warning over logistics skills deficit “timebomb”
T
he logistics sector is still in
the grips of a significant
recruitment problem which
could potentially cause the
nation to grind to a halt,
according to a new white paper.
A recent survey conducted by
Talent in Logistics (TiL) found
only eight per cent of young
people consider the sector to be
an attractive career option – and
an astounding 42 per cent don’t
even know what logistics is.
With only nine per cent of the
current workforce being under 25- and 45 per cent being over 45
- time is running out for the
sector before it experiences a
“devastating skills deficit”,
TiL said.
Nearly 500 students and
teachers attending the
WorldSkills UK Live exhibition
took part in the research, which
also revealed significant
concerns around diversity, career
opportunities and salary. A quarter
(26 per cent) of the young people
quizzed said they do not believe
there is gender diversity within the
logistics sector.
Furthermore, only 18 per cent
have been spoken to at school or
sixth form about logistics as a
career path. Most said they were
unaware of the diversity of roles
available within logistics, which can
range from facilities managers and
data analysts to freight co-
ordinators and materials planners.
“The perception of logistics is
arguably the biggest problem facing
the sector when trying to recruit
new talent,” said Ruth Edwards,
business manager, Talent in
Logistics. “As an organisation, we
want to promote the importance of
recruiting talent from groups that
are currently under-represented in
the logistics industry.
“It’s only by future-proofing the
nation’s currently thriving logisticsH
armful NOx emissions
from trucks have been
halved in only five years,
according to new government
statistics released by the
Department for Transport.
The DfT figures show a 52 per
cent fall between 2013 and 2018
as haulage firms have upgraded
their fleets to include cleaner
Euro 6 engines.
The data was welcomed by
the RHA, which said its latest
predictions showed NOx
emissions from HGVs will havereduced by more than 80 per cent
by the end of 2025.
However, the Association
warned many operators face an
uncertain future as local authorities
press on with plans which will see
hauliers charged up to £100 per
day to enter clean air zones.
These efforts to improve air
quality, it said, will fall short until
they proportionately target sources
of emissions.
“The government is signing off
poorly conceived measures which
punish hauliers for local authorityfailures to keep emissions in
check,” said RHA boss, Richard
Burnett. “But we’re leading the
way – we’ve more than halved our
NOx emissions in the last five
years and this will only continue as
firms upgrade their fleets.”
RHA said trucks and buses
accounted for a small, declining
proportion of NOx emissions,
according to National Atmospheric
Emissions Inventory data. It cited
figures from 2015, which showed
the sectors were responsible for
only 7.6 per cent of NOx, while theRhenus: “Jury still out on electric trucks”
Survey found only 8% of young people
considered logistics an attractive careershare from other key sources such
as ‘passenger cars’ and
‘combustion in industry’ were
much higher.Rhenus UK director reckons it’s unlikely
we’ll see battery-powered, long-distance
HGVs on the UK motorway networksector that we can keep the UK
moving,” she added.
While driver shortages and skills
gaps are already taking their toll,
the biggest hurdle is the sector’s
ageing population and the lack of
millennials coming up through the
ranks to replace them, theorganisation said. “We are calling
upon the sector and the
education system to play their
part in ensuring young people
are aware of the many amazing
opportunities and career paths
available within logistics,”
Edwards concluded.ABOVECleaner engines have seen HGV
NOx emissions fall sharply since the
introduction of Euro 6Photo credit: RTITB