Government publishes executive summary of first year results of Low Carbon Truck trials
Tue 24 June 2014
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The Government has published executive summary of provisional results of the first year of the DFT's Low Carbon Truck Trial. The results show that HGVs running on natural gas - the most widespread fuel used in the trial - are cutting carbon emissions by up to 9% on a tank-to-wheel basis.
According to the report, 175 trucks were in use by January 2014 as part of the two-year trial, most of which are dual-fuel gas and diesel tractor units.
The average gas substitution ratio to date has been 46% for dual-fuel vehicles, with carbon savings of up to 9%. These figures are expected to rise as the refuelling infrastructure becomes more widespread.
The Freight Transport Association which represents commercial vehicle operators welcomed the report.
The FTA's climate change policy manager, Rachael Dillon. said (quoted in Transport Engineer):"The report provides crucial early feedback from the Low Carbon Truck Trial and identifies the operational challenges of running gas HGVs",
"We hope that the trial can kickstart the market and look forward to seeing further results."
The Government is providing £11.3 million towards a £23m demonstration project to pump prime procurement of low emission HGV technologies and supporting infrastructure.
Thirteen projects will result in 354 trucks using alternative fuels: 237 will use liquefied natural gas (LNG); 107 will use compressed natural gas (CNG); and 10 will operate on used cooking oil (UCO).
A total of 18 new refuelling stations is planned for installation during the trial.
The LowCVP's Commercial Vehicle Interest Group is currently working on an HGV methane strategy. The primary opportunity identified in the LowCVP's 2012 Low Carbon HGV barriers and opportunities report was to increase the use of methane and, ultimately, biomethane, as a road fuel for HGV operation.
The LowCVP has been supporting the DfT in developing an overarching strategy in order to make the long-term operational case for HGV operation on methane gas.
The Group is also working on a project to accredit the performance of various HGV technologies in cutting carbon emissions. For more information, please see the LowCVP website project pages.
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