While there is abundant research on low carbon technologies for freight, not much exists on the main drivers that steer the decision-making process to invest in cleaner fleets and recharging / refuelling infrastructure. This study has addressed this knowledge gap by consulting with organisations with freight transport investment responsibilities in the road, rail, maritime and public sectors. Such consultation has been essential to understand practical issues and enablers, in contrast to a theoretical analysis or technology-led approach.
Four online focus groups were held in February 2021, with 24 participants representing active stakeholders, each having vehicle fleet procurement responsibilities. The stakeholders were all UK-based except for one maritime company based in Cyprus with a global operation. Each focus group investigated one freight sector. They identified and ranked the key factors influencing the procurement of decarbonised fleets.
The main finding identified the key drivers, enablers or barriers associated with freight decarbonisation investment decisions and their relative importance. The key drivers across all sectors were:
- Whole life cost
- Current lack of recharging/refuelling infrastructure
- Vehicle range and payload
- Subsidies or incentives
- Reliability
- Efficiency
- The vehicle suitability or capability
- Vehicle emissions
While the key drivers for decarbonising UK freight were seen to vary between sectors, whole life cost was deemed very important across all the sectors (contributing over 20% to the procurement decision). This indicates that to decarbonise freight, the UK Government should implement policies that support the delivery of economies of scale that will translate to cost reductions until cleaner technologies reach cost parity with incumbent technologies. Governments worldwide have succeeded with policies promoting direct subsidies, grants, research and innovation credits or promoting green fleets procurement schemes. Mandates forcing fleets to decarbonise is another approach that has been used with success. This includes GHG emissions standards or phasing out fossil fuels. This is feasible but challenging for those organisations operating across international borders. However, unless the same rules bind international freight organisations, they could gain a competitive advantage that in a sector with small profit margins, could threaten the survival of local businesses.
This report has been produced by TRL and University of Southampton under a contract with ESPRC and DUKFT.
