18 2GM Tuesday July 28 2020 | the times
News
Slow lanes on motorways should be
transformed into “e-highways” for elec-
tric lorries that would reduce the UK’s
carbon emissions by up to 5 per cent, a
government-backed study has found.
Under the proposal from academics
at Cambridge and Edinburgh, more
than 9,000 miles (14,500km) of motor-
ways and A-roads would be fitted with
overhead electric cables similar to
those on railways. The £20 billion cost
of the project would be paid for over
15 years by charging hauliers for the
electricity, the Centre for Sustainable
Road Freight (CSRF) said.
Its report urged ministers to back a
24-mile pilot project in Yorkshire by
2025, suggesting that the scheme could
be completed by the late 2030s. Cables
would link to lorries in the inside lanes
of big roads via an extendable rig
known as a pantograph. This would
drive the electric motor and recharge
batteries for the rest of the journey.
Long-range electric lorries have
been problematic because of the size
and weight of the batteries needed. The
oil industry is lobbying the government
to invest in and subsidise hydrogen as
an alternative “green” energy supply.
However, critics have said that such a
switch would require a vast investmentin renewable electricity generation as
creating hydrogen is energy intensive.
The CSRF said that more than three
times the electricity would be needed to
power a hydrogen vehicle than one
connected to the grid. David Cebon,
professor of mechanical engineering at
Cambridge and co-author of the study,
said: “You would end up in a situation
where the government was subsidising
the production of hydrogen while
losing tax revenues from fuel duty.”
The CSRF has funding from the
engineering and physical sciences
research council. Its conclusions will
feed into the decarbonising transport
plan to meet the 2050 net-zero target.Call to convert slow lanes
into e-highways for lorries
Oliver Wright Policy Editor
Connector
armsHybrid lorry detects overhead
cables and extends arms to
establish connectionArms automatically retract when
lorry overtakes or leaves highway1
3
2
Lorry now runs
on electricityPower up
Slow
laneCables
EAST NEWS PRESS AGENCYPetrol has peaked
as half of drivers
consider switching
to an electric car
The UK may have reached “peak
petrol”, with sales of combustion engine
cars falling as motorists shift to electric
vehicles, according to research.
A study has predicted that 42 per cent
of new cars sold in Europe will be bat-
tery-powered by the end of the decade,
with the UK, Germany, France, the
Netherlands and Scandinavia leading
the way.
Polling showed that half of UK
motorists would consider an electric
vehicle for their next purchase as the
relative price of new green cars starts to
drop because more are being produced.
The study by the auditors Deloitte
said that “peak petrol” may have been
reached. Sales of diesel cars have been
in steep decline since the Volkswagen
emissions scandal. Since the start of the
pandemic sales of all combustion
engine vehicles, including petrol mod-
els, have fallen away.
Jamie Hamilton, head of electric
vehicles at Deloitte, said: “The out-
break of Covid-19 means we have likely
seen petrol and diesel vehicles reach
their sales peak, albeit relatively
unnoticed. With total annual car sales
unlikely to return to pre-pandemic
levels until 2024, even if sales growth in
the petrol and diesel market returns it is
likely to experience a decline in market
share thereafter.”
Figures show that 30,957 electric cars
have been sold in the UK since the
start of this year, almost three times as
many as in the same period last year.
They now account for 4.7 per cent of
new cars — almost one in 20 —compared with only 0.9 per cent
a year ago.
The government has set a target to
eliminate the sale of new petrol and
diesel cars in the UK by 2035; this
deadline could be accelerated to 2032 if
progress is too slow.
Analysis by the consultants McKin-
sey shows that electric car sales in the
UK are the 12th highest in the world. As
a proportion of all cars sold, Norway
had the highest electric vehicle
“penetration rate”, with green vehicles
accounting for almost 60 per cent.
The Deloitte report said that across
Europe electric cars should account for
42 per cent of total sales by 2030 “but
this doesn’t tell the whole story”.
It said that sales in wealthier coun-
tries “such as the United Kingdom,
Germany, France, the Netherlands”
and Scandinavia were likely to grow the
fastest as they “invest more in infra-
structure and offer greater cash and tax
incentives to accelerate initial growth”.
Mr Hamilton added: “The price
premium attached to many electric
vehicles [EVs] restricted some early
adopters but as the cost of EVs have
converged with petrol and diesel equiv-
alents, the pool of prospective buyers is
set to increase.
“A wider range of new electric
vehicles, combined with a growing
second-hand market, means EVs are
becoming a more viable option for
many. However, overcoming consumer
concerns around driving range and
perceived lack of charging infrastruc-
ture will be important factors as more
drivers consider the practicalities of
switching to electric.”Graeme Paton Transport Correspondent
One-track mind A lorry driver ploughed through a crossing in Essex, tearing off the gate and causing widespread delays