New Delhi:
As the demand for road transport increases, there is an urgent need to make heavy vehicles like trucks and buses cleaner and more fuel efficient. Currently, over 80% of heavy-duty vehicles in the world are powered by diesel engines which emit high levels of particulate matter.However, government policies around the world during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily reduced daily global CO2 emissions last year. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the global pandemic led to a decrease in transport activities in 2020, reducing CO2 emissions from buses and trucks by 5% compared to 2019.
“While emissions are expected to rebound in 2021, for the net zero emissions scenario by 2050, they are expected to peak in the next few years and then start to decline, with an average decline of 2.1% year over year. on the other from 2021 to 2030, â€IEA said in a recent report.
To achieve this reduction in emissions, the report adds, more countries must adopt fuel economy and CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles, as well as mandates for zero-emission vehicles. Existing ones need to be made more comprehensive and more stringent to encourage the adoption of zero-emission technologies.
The rapid electrification of buses and the deployment of medium and heavy hydrogen and electric trucks, as well as the deployment of strategic infrastructure, are needed during this decade to pave the way for the large-scale adoption of battery-powered trucks. and fuel cell in the 2030s, according to the report. noted.
Adoption of necessary e-buses, e-trucks
The IEA report says global electric bus sales have contracted from a peak in 2016 and rebounded slightly from 2019 levels. By 2020, around 600,000 electric buses and 31,000 electric heavy-duty trucks were in circulation. in the world. China continued to dominate both markets in 2020, with registrations of 78,000 new electric buses, up 9% from 2019, and 6,700 new electric trucks.
Europe has the largest number of zero emission truck models. Electric heavy truck registrations increased 23% in 2020 to around 450 and electric bus registrations increased 7% to 2,100, compared to a year ago.
While in North America, 580 new electric buses hit the road last year, electric heavy truck registrations jumped to 240.
“As electric bus registrations increased in these markets in 2020, accelerated deployment is needed to expand the fleet to 8 million by 2030 to be in line with the net zero emissions trajectory by 2050,” said said the independent research agency based in Paris.
Along with the massive development of recharging and refueling infrastructure, the share of sales of electric heavy-duty battery and fuel cell trucks will need to drop rapidly from well below 1% in 2020 to 30% in 2030.
Who does what
Buses have been the oldest and most successful case of electrification in the heavy vehicle market, although manufacturers continue to meet the growing demand for zero emission trucks, including medium and heavy freight trucks. Heavy-duty manufacturers such as Daimler, Renault, Scania, MAN and Volvo have all indicated their commitment to a future of zero-emission trucks, including battery-powered and fuel-cell electric models, according to the agency’s report. .
Scania recently stepped up its commitment by committing to launch at least one new electric vehicle in the bus and truck segment each year, quotes the IEA. Meanwhile, the Volvo Truck and DHL freight partnership has announced plans to start piloting a long-haul electric freight truck in 2021 with plans for eventual deployment across Europe.
“Fuel cell trucks are also gaining attention, with Hyzon receiving orders for more than 1,500 trucks to be delivered by 2024 to New Zealand and Europe,†the IEA report added. Daimler and Volvo also plan to start serial production of fuel cell trucks from 2025 as part of a joint venture.
Areas of intervention
There isn’t just one way to streamline R&D. But a set of supporting infrastructure and fiscal policies can provide a backbone for R&D organizations. “In collaboration with truck manufacturers, governments should take stock of the competitive prospects of battery and fuel cell electric trucks by 2030, to focus R&D on the most important challenges and allow sufficient time to deploy the supporting infrastructure, â€says the IEA report.
In addition to the development of codes and standards, more R&D on components and system integration is needed to enable the commercialization of mega-chargers, electric road systems and high-flow high-pressure hydrogen refueling stations.
The report also pointed out that fiscal policies, such as road tolls and fuel taxes that take into account the various externalities of polluting ICE technologies in place, can make zero-emission heavy trucks more attractive to customers.
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