• over £200 million invested to launch world’s largest fleet of zero emission heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), accelerating plans to decarbonise road freight
• plans to eliminate fossil fuels from HGV haulage will help to reduce delivery costs and protect consumers from rising fuel prices in the long term
• new plans support government’s world-leading pledges made at COP26, ensuring all new HGVs sold in the UK will be zero emission by 2040

The world’s largest fleet of zero emission HGVs will take to UK roads through plans to achieve cleaner air and greener jobs, while helping to keep costs down on consumer goods.   Transport Minister Trudy Harrison revealed over £200 million of government funding will be injected into an extensive zero emission road freight demonstrator programme, at Logistics UK’s Future Logistics Conference this morning (12 May 2022).

The 3-year comparative programme will begin later this year to help decarbonise the UK’s freight industry with initial competitions for battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell technology launching shortly.

This could see hundreds more zero-emission HGVs rolled out across the nation and save the industry money, thanks to overall running costs of green vehicles being cheaper than petrol and diesel equivalents. More efficient deliveries will in turn enable haulage companies to keep the price of goods down and protect customers from rising costs.

The transition to zero-emission trucks will also help improve air quality, create greener jobs and deliver on COP26 pledges while reducing reliance on imports of foreign oil. Eliminating fossil fuels from road freight and improving the UK’s energy supply resilience will help to protect drivers and businesses from increasing global energy prices.

The demonstrations will help gather evidence on the future refuelling and recharging infrastructure needed to drive the smooth transition to a zero-emission freight sector by 2050.

Our road freight industry is one of the most efficient in the world and contributes over £13 billion to the UK economy each year.

But we must accelerate our journey towards our net zero goals, and we’re committed to leading the way globally on non-zero emission road vehicles.

Our ambitious plans will continue to ensure food is stocked on the shelves and goods are supplied while eliminating fossil fuels from HGVs and making our freight sector green for good.

Transport Minister, Trudy Harrison

The demonstrations will help the UK’s freight sector reduce its reliance on fossil fuels by finding which zero emission technologies are best suited to the heaviest road vehicles in the UK.

An open-call competition will be launched for manufacturers, energy providers and fleet and infrastructure operators to showcase their green technology on UK roads. This will begin with demonstrations of battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell HGVs.

The announcement expands the Department for Transport’s (DfT) successful £20 million zero emission road freight trials which ran last year, delivered by Innovate UK.

As part of these trials, commercial vehicle manufacturer Leyland Trucks rolled out 20 DAF battery electric HGVs for use by public sector organisations, including the NHS and local authorities, to support the uptake of battery electric trucks, enabling learning to be gathered from field testing vehicles in a real-world, real-time logistics environment.

This project, along with 6 successful feasibility studies, helped prepare for the demonstrations, which will take place at scale over the coming years.

Logistics businesses are committed to decarbonising their operations, but to ensure a smooth transition they need clarity on the path to zero tailpipe emission HGVs. The trials announced today will play a crucial role in identifying the right technological solutions to help enable this.

Given the breadth of the vehicles used across the logistics sector and scale of innovation required to reach net zero Logistics UK is also pleased that government has launched a consultation to identify potential exemptions to the 2035 phase out date.

Michelle Gardner, Acting Deputy Director – Public Policy, Logistics UK

During the speech in Farnborough, among industry leaders, Minister Harrison articulated plans to deliver on ambitious pledges made at COP26 last year that all new HGVs sold in the UK will be zero emission from 2040. This puts the UK on course to be the fastest G7 country to decarbonise its fleet of road vehicles.

Today, DfT published the full response to a public consultation on phase out dates for the sale of new, non-zero emission HGVs, confirming the scale of our ambition to eliminate carbon emissions from road freight.

Further to this, DfT is fulfilling its commitment to consult with industry to identify potential exemptions to the 2035 phase out date for HGVs, weighing 26 tonnes and under, which may need longer to transition to zero emission technologies. The call for evidence opened today and will last until 22 July 2022.

These announcements and investment reaffirm the government’s commitment to eliminating carbon emissions from road freight while supporting economic growth, improving air quality, and making UK towns and cities healthier places to live.

Changes to simplify the process to become a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) driver to help deal with the HGV driver shortage were introduced by the government in 2021. These included:

• allowing the off-road part of the lorry test to be carried out by non-DVSA assessors
• allowing drivers to take one test to drive both a rigid and articulated lorry
• removing the need for drivers to do a separate car and trailer test

In addition to these changes:

• DVSA recruited more vocational driving examiners to help make more tests available in the areas of where demand is highest
• vocational driving examiners carried out overtime, including at weekends and on public holidays

The actions were part of the the government’s 33 actions taken to deal with the HGV driver shortage and protect the supply chain. This included:

• making 11,000 HGV driver training places available through Skills Bootcamps
• injecting a major and sustained boost to the number of HGV driving tests available
• investing £52.5 million in improvements in roadside facilities and lorry parking

Industry bodies are reporting the number of HGV drivers is stabilising

Since the government intervened, the sector has started to recover and industry bodies are reporting positively on the number of HGV drivers stabilising.

They indicate that the initiatives introduced by government and industry have started to yield results, showing that perceptions of the industry are changing as a result of government support and more people are looking to train and qualify as HGV drivers.

It comes as part of wider government efforts to help more people into work, since this is the best way to support families in the long-term while growing the economy to address the cost of living.

The government took swift action and introduced 33 measures to support our vital freight sector throughout a global driver shortage and to maintain our country’s supply chains.

Those measures have worked, with the number of lorry driver tests being taken on the rise, and the sector reporting driver numbers are stabilising.

We’ll continue to work with the industry to remove any potential barriers to a rewarding, successful career in logistics and to boost and maintain driver numbers.

Dhumira Wellington, Transport Minister

We recognise the haulage industry keeps the wheels of our economy turning. I want to say thank you to all vocational training providers and our vocational driving examiners for supporting the changes.

It’s their hard work and commitment that has allowed us to offer an additional 11,197 tests and increase the number of drivers joining the industry.

The Port of Dover reports a “critical incident”, blaming a four-hour wait to the ferry terminal on “woefully inadequate” French border control.

The port apologised to holidaymakers and HGV drivers who were still stuck in queue this morning, saying they were “deeply frustrated” with the Police Aux Frontieres (PAF), who had fallen short of a successful first weekend of the peak summer getaway period.

Doug Bannister, the port’s CE told BBC Kent that French border controls were “insufficiently resourced,” and that the port and its users had been “badly let down.”

According to reports, just six of the 12 passport booths operated by French customs officials at Dover are currently open.

Travellers who have been waiting in five-hour queues to complete border checks before checking in for their ferry have described “zero movement” on Twitter.

Eurotunnel is unaffected, although it will be unable to take passengers from Dover.

In a statement, the port claimed it had made “significant investment” in the run-up to summer, boosting interim French border control booths by 50% and improving traffic systems.

A team of newly trained “passenger champions” has been on standby to help customers who have become stranded at the port.

“The Dover route remains the most popular sea route to France and France remains one of the key holiday destinations for British families,” the Port concluded in its statement.

“We know that resource is finite, but the popularity of Dover is not a surprise. Regrettably, the PAF resource has been insufficient and has fallen far short of what is required to ensure a smooth first weekend of the peak summer getaway period.

“We will continue to work with all Kent partners to look after those caught up in the current situation,”

The UK faces more traffic disruption as the Fuel Price Stand Against Tax campaign group claims fuel protests will be held today in Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool, London and Manchester.

The NHS will soon be receiving medical consumable products delivered by a fleet of eight fully electric trucks, as part of the Department for Transport’s £10 million Battery Electric Truck Trial (BETT).

NHS Supply Chain in partnership with its logistics provider Unipart Logistics is one of the key operators in the 12-month pilot project which is seeing 20 DAF LF Electric trucks using pioneering technology entering service with the NHS and local authorities.

NHS Supply Chain is commencing use of eight 19 tonne LF Electric rigids with refrigerated bodies at four locations across the country: Bury St Edmunds, Normanton, Rugby and Alfreton. It will feed back real time performance data for the zero emission vehicles.

The BETT focuses on vehicles, charging infrastructure, user training, repair and maintenance, and total-cost-of- ownership, providing operational insight across a variety of duty cycles. It is part of the Government’s wider £20 million zero emission road freight trials and is delivered using the Small Business Research Initiative, a process bringing together government challenges and ideas from business to create innovative solutions.

NHS Supply Chain’s Director of Supply Chain Chris Holmes said: “It is really exciting to be part of one of the largest and most significant deployments of zero emission heavy goods vehicles in the UK to date. Everything on our zero emission vehicles is electric, even the refrigeration units.

“Driving down our carbon emissions is one of our top priorities and this is just one of the ways we’re supporting the NHS to achieve their net zero target by 2045, which has wide ranging health benefits for us all, not least around air quality.”

Claire Salmon, Unipart Logistics NHS Supply Chain Director, added: “We are excited to be working with our customer NHS Supply Chain to run the Battery Electric Truck Trial, which also supports the Unipart UN Race To Zero commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030 and net zero by 2050. The trial will provide us with valuable insight into operating fully-electric vehicles of this size as part of our fleet, so we can understand how best to facilitate a charging network, driver training and the potential to grow this technology in the future. We are committed to delivering a safe and sustainable service in support of our frontline care customers.”

The trucks have entered day-to-day operations while at the same time gathering real-time performance data; the results from which will be used in an interactive website to inform future fleet operator buying decisions and help stimulate the sale of battery electric trucks. With the Government having set ambitious targets to end the sale of non-zero emission heavy goods vehicles from 2035 (for vehicles of 26-tonne Gross Vehicle Weight – the maximum weight of the vehicle plus the load and below, and 2040 for heavier vehicles) the BETT is expected to make a significant and positive impact upon the move to zero emission vehicles.

All the vehicles in the trial feature the distinctive Battery Electric Truck Trial logo.

Europa Road, part of leading logistics operator Europa Worldwide Group, has continued to invest in its UK artic fleet, with the introduction of five new high spec Renault T range 6 x 2440 13 L trucks into its 50 strong fleet.

This comes as part of the drive to improve the comfort credentials for its drivers, with five more Renaults due to join the fleet in May, and an ongoing replacement strategy to renew the whole artic fleet over the next 2 years.

Europa Road’s fleet was shifted to be exclusively Renault some years ago. The latest models were specifically identified as optimum replacements for older vehicles which were nearing the end of their life within the ongoing rolling stock management programme.

Dan Cook, Operations Director for Europa Road, commented: “As part of the expansion of the full and part load unaccompanied business, Europa has increased its artic fleet to support the desire to undertake more inhouse port haulage.

“This means a change to the traditional Europa UK haulage model, where the day starts and finishes at Dartford, and an increase in ‘tramping,’ meaning the vehicle and driver are away from base for several days at a time.

“For this reason, now more than ever, it is necessary to ensure the most appropriate equipment to reflect comfort and facilities for drivers is provided.”

The ongoing HGV driver shortage, still estimated to be around 100,000 means it is vital that driver satisfaction is put to the forefront of investment considerations.

In taking small steps to improve the working conditions of its valued driving team, Europa Road continues to ensure it is doing all it can to retain those fulfilling this crucial role, which is vital to the supply chains of all customers.

By choosing new trucks with high end features in the cab’s design – such as a microwave, a fridge, and an inverter – drivers are able to plug in other home creature comforts without issue.

There is also extra storage capacity for both food and personal items, making the driver more comfortable when away from home for days at a time.

Speaking about the latest upgrades, Malcolm Castle, General Manager – Domestic Transport at Europa Road, commented: “It is absolutely critical that our vehicles are kept in the best possible condition to enable our European road freight sales network to operate seamlessly and without interruption.

“The introduction of these five new top-spec Renault Trucks, with more to follow, show our drivers that they are valued and that we will go the extra mile to ensure they can do their job in comfort and in safety.

“Our drivers are the beating heart of Europa Road’s operations, and we want them to know we will always strive to invest in the best possible vehicles on the market.”

The Renault T models, and all other trucks in Europa Road’s fleet, meet the stringent Euro 6 emissions standards to ensure their environmental impacts are kept to a minimum.

Moves are also afoot to determine what other adjustments might be made following on from Government’s recent endorsement of the introduction of more aerodynamic features and longer cabs to reduce fuel consumption.

Europa Road is fully committed to reducing its carbon footprint across the business and is developing plans to meet the phasing out of new fossil fuel vehicles in the commercial sector from 2030.

Operating from 13 local sales branch sites in the UK – with three more due to open imminently – Europa Road’s network groupage solution offers interconnectivity between each location and the state-of-the-art groupage hub at the Shield Road site in Dartford.

Customers benefit from scheduled, daily, round-trip trunking that allows all shipments to link into Europe every single day. All services are underpinned by the best online IT, shipment tracking, overall high performance, and local account management.

The last few years have seen major investment and growth for Europa Road, which invested over £5m in Europa Flow. This successfully allowed goods to move quickly and efficiently between the UK and EU with minimal delays post-Brexit.

Europa Worldwide Group is an ambitious independent logistics operator with four divisions – Europa Road, Europa Air & Sea, Europa Warehouse, and Continental Cargo Carriers. Europa has featured in The Sunday Times Top Track 250 for the third time and employs over 1,300 across the UK, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.

• creative entrepreneurs awarded share of £1.95 million to revolutionise UK’s transport network
• projects include technology to protect public transport systems from extreme weather conditions and proposals to reduce carbon emissions from HGVs
• government-backed projects will help support a greener and more efficient transport future, as UK drives towards net zero targets

Entrepreneurs and innovators pioneering new ways of creating a more efficient transport system are being backed by government funding announced today (13 April 2022).

In total, 51 projects have been awarded a share of £1.95 million in Department for Transport (DfT) funding as part of the government’s Transport Research and Innovation Grant (TRIG) programme, the largest number of projects backed in the programme’s history.

One winner, Makesense Technology Ltd, will develop a technology to guide visually impaired people through the public transport network. A handheld device will scan the area and provide touch feedback, such as a vibration to the tablet holder, alerting them to any obstacles and their direction of travel.

AJEA Products Ltd is also among those awarded funding, creating autonomous flood protection for critical transport infrastructure. It will design self-deploying barriers that can be installed at train stations across the UK and pop up automatically when floods are detected, preventing passenger journeys from being disrupted by extreme weather.

Meanwhile, Unitrove Innovation Ltd is being backed to develop a control system for the world’s first liquid hydrogen fuel container facility for zero emission ships (as seen in the image above).

The University of Cambridge is developing a new low-cost and lightweight steering system for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), which will reduce tyre wear, reduce carbon emissions and make it easier for larger vehicles to manoeuvre on the road.

Innovation funded as part of TRIG could be the key to unlocking a more efficient and safer transport system for tomorrow.

I support the ingenious ideas of this year’s cohort every step of the way and wish the successful applicants all the very best. I look forward to seeing the ideas develop to boost our green agenda and create high-skilled jobs across the UK.

Transport Minister, Trudy Harrison

Now in its 11th round of funding, the TRIG programme, delivered in partnership with Connected Places Catapult, brings together talented start-ups – mainly SMEs and universities – and policymakers at the earliest stage of innovation to help enhance the UK’s transport system.

Since launching in 2014, over £6 million in grants has supported more than 200 TRIG projects.

This year, the programme focused on increasing the diversity of its applicants. From Southampton to the Shetland Islands, the winning projects are based across the UK and reflect DfT’s commitments to levelling up.

The winners were selected based on 4 key themes:

• maritime decarbonisation
• future of freight
• COVID-19 recovery
• transport resilience

An open call, where any transport related idea was also considered.

For the first time, 6 Future of Freight grants worth £100,000 each were piloted for larger projects, moving them past ‘proof of concept’ and towards being demonstration ready. These will complement remaining 45 grants of up to £30,000 each, spread across all 4 themes.

DfT will also be working in partnership with Connected Places Catapult this year to pilot an Innovation Accelerator Programme, which will support companies at a later stage in their innovation journeys. The programme will provide funding to help projects take the last step towards the market by providing bespoke training from industry experts.

TRIG is a one-of-a-kind programme. It provides a mechanism to identify and support early-stage innovation that might slip through the nets of traditional funding routes.

Connected Places Catapult is extremely proud to deliver TRIG 2021, which is supporting over 50 innovators across 4 different challenges, including the future of freight, maritime decarbonisation, COVID-19 recovery and resilient transport systems. I am excited to see what great products and services arise.

Buhari led Administration and the Hon. Minister of Aviation for promises kept.

The second runway project was awarded to the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Nigeria Limited (CCECC) and the site was handed over to the company on the aforementioned date.

Other projects that would be executed as part of the aviation roadmap include: Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Centre; Aviation Leasing Company (ALC); Agro-Allied Cargo Terminals; Aerotropolis or Airport City; National Carrier; Africa Aerospace and Aviation University (AAAU); second Runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, amongst others.

Some of the benefits that would accrue to Nigeria at the completion of the projects are: employment opportunities for Nigerians; enhanced transfer of technology; increase in foreign exchange earnings/increase in GDP contribution; backward integration of aircraft maintenance and repair facilities for both domestic and international carriers; improvement in Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria; reduction in capital flight; increase in Bilateral Air Services Agreements with other countries, amongst others.