Skip to main content

UK government to fund carbon-cutting truck trials

Truck operators have been invited to apply for a slice of US$15.34 million provided for industry trials of carbon-cutting trucks by the UK Department for Transport and the Technology Strategy Board. A competition opened yesterday for applications under the ‘Low carbon truck demonstration trial’ which will deliver fleets of low-emission heavy goods vehicles as well as supporting infrastructure such as fuelling stations and electric recharging hubs.
April 25, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSSTruck operators have been invited to apply for a slice of US$15.34 million provided for industry trials of carbon-cutting trucks by the UK 1837 Department for Transport and the 2231 Technology Strategy Board. A competition opened yesterday for applications under the ‘Low carbon truck demonstration trial’ which will deliver fleets of low-emission heavy goods vehicles as well as supporting infrastructure such as fuelling stations and electric recharging hubs.

“Almost a quarter of carbon from transport in this country comes from heavy goods vehicles, so this is a key area for us to tackle,” said transport minister Mike Penning. “These trials will show us how low-carbon technologies perform day-to-day in the real world, providing vital data to build operator confidence in these green trucks and allowing us to make policy choices based on hard evidence.

“The investment in gas refuelling infrastructure will also give haulage firms a push to buy gas-powered HGVs, leaving a legacy that will support low-carbon transport well into the future,” Penning said.

Companies wishing to take advantage of the funding have until 20 June to bid for up to US$1.2 million each. Trials will run for two years and data collected over this period will be used to inform Government policy on low-carbon road freight. To qualify for the competition, vehicles must deliver carbon savings of at least 15 per cent compared with the equivalent conventional vehicle. A variety of technologies are eligible for funding under the rules of the competition including gas-powered, dual fuel or hybrid trucks of over 7.5 tonnes and electric vehicles over 3.5 tonnes.

Details of the competition can be found online here.

Related Content

  • February 21, 2013
    UK government funding package benefits plug-in vehicle drivers
    UK drivers with plug-in vehicles are set to benefit from a US$57.3 million funding package for home and on-street charging and for new charge points for people parking plug-in vehicles at railway stations. The coalition government will provide 75 per cent of the cost of installing new charge points. This can be claimed by: people installing charge points where they live; local authorities installing rapid charge points to facilitate longer journeys, or providing on-street charging on request from residents
  • June 29, 2016
    Are truck bans the wrong move in the battle for air quality
    Low emission zones and heavy goods vehicles’ access to city centres may at first glance appear attractive but how effective are such controls? Jon Masters reviews emerging trends across Europe. Around 1,700 European cities have implemented low emission zones (LEZs) and in addition some have restricted city centre access for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). Even those that restrict HGV access, such as Paris and Rome, allow exemptions at certain times and for particular classes of vehicle. But with what effect?
  • January 30, 2018
    Innovate UK to provide update on low emission trials at Microlise
    Innovate UK will present an update on the £20m ($28m) government Low Emission Freight and Logistics Trials (LEFT) at the Microlise Transport Conference held in Coventry this May. The trials have deployed hydrogen dual-fuel vehicles, electric vans and trucks with the intention of encouraging the wide-spread introduction of low and zero emission vehicles to UK fleets.
  • April 18, 2012
    Funding to develop non-rare-earth magnet electric motors
    The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded US$3 million to UQM Technologies for the development of non-rare-earth magnet electric motors for use in electric and hybrid electric vehicles. The company will cost-share 25 per cent of the $4 million effort under the development programme.