HGV low carbon technology – stakeholder engagement
1 - Context
1. The government is committed to achieving an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
from 1990 levels by 2050. The Climate Change Act 2008 provides a framework for achieving
this goal by requiring government to set legally binding carbon budgets for 5 year periods.
The first 3 carbon budgets covering the period 2008 to 2022 were set in 2009. The 4th carbon
budget for the period 2023-2027 was legislated in 2011. The government will make a
decision on the level of the 5th carbon budget (2028-2032) in 2016.
2. Ahead of the decision on the 5th Carbon Budget, the Department for Transport is developing
its modelling capability relating to the HGV fleet and the potential for technologies to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions from the HGV sector in the period to 2035 and beyond.
3. This work builds on previous analysis of technology uptake in the HGV sector which was
developed drawing on evidence from the Technology Roadmap for Low Carbon HGVs
produced by Ricardo for LowCVP. This analysis informed the scenarios published as part of
the Carbon Plan (2011). We are now keen to refresh the evidence underpinning our
modelling for future work on carbon budgets.
4. In particular, we wish to look more closely at the cost of potential low carbon technologies,
their impact on vehicle emissions and their applicability to different vehicles performing
different operations. The technologies we are considering fall into a range of categories from
on-vehicle technologies, waste heat recovery, alternative powertrains and fuels, and
powertrain transmission and efficiency. We are seeking stakeholder input to review the
existing evidence we have relating to these technologies.
2 - Stakeholder Engagement
5. This note sets out the key questions that we are seeking stakeholder views on and is
accompanied by an Excel document which sets out the detailed assumptions included in our
current modelling. We are particularly seeking input on the following key areas:
 The additional costs of the technology – both the upfront capital cost incurred and any
ongoing maintenance costs.
 The average fuel efficiency improvement which could be gained from technology.
 Whether the technology can be retrofitted to older vehicles in the fleet or is solely
available for new vehicles.
 The applicability of technologies to vehicles operating on different duty cycles.
6. In addition to a review of these key assumptions, we would also like to take this opportunity
to seek stakeholder views on the potential for technology uptake in the fleet in the period to
2035. We recognise that many factors may influence technology uptake in this period,
including fuel prices and fuel price differentials, as well as the policy environment, but are
particularly interested in what would be feasible over this time period, given, for example,
turnover rates in the fleet. The range of our current assumptions on technology uptake are
set out in this document as well as the spreadsheet and we would be interested in
stakeholder views on whether the range is reasonable and adequately reflects the
uncertainties around future uptake.
7. Finally, we would also be interested in expert views on how the make-up of the fleet might
change over time, and, in particular, how the proportion of the fleet operating on different
duty cycles may evolve. In particular it would be useful to understand what trends currently
exist or can be anticipated which would have a significant impact on vehicle sizes in the
fleet, average mileage or usual operation. We have defined the duty cycles we are using in
our modelling of the fleet in the attached annex.
8. In section 3 we have set out the main questions we would like you to consider. It would also
be useful to hear about any new evidence or supporting literature that we should take
account of in developing our modelling assumptions.
9. The evidence that we receive in response to our stakeholder engagement will be reviewed
and used as input assumptions in DfT’s future modelling of HGV low carbon technologies.
We appreciate that some data may be commercially confidential and we will ensure that
such data remains confidential and is aggregated to avoid identification.
3 – Questions
10. Attached to this document is an excel document entitled “DfT Stakeholder form”, which
contains 7 worksheets. We are seeking input on the capital and maintenance cost
assumptions set out within these worksheets, as well as the average fuel consumption
saving of each technology listed and are asking stakeholders to review and, where possible,
provide updated values for each technology under the appropriate duty cycle.
11. The current assumptions are presented by duty cycle and it is assumed that not all
technologies would be applied to vehicles operating on a specific duty cycle. Excluded
technologies are listed on each worksheet and we would be interested in your views on
whether we have made the right assessment of applicability for the individual technologies.
12. In addition we would appreciate your responses to the following questions:
a. Are there any trends you predict will have an impact on fleet make-up out to 2035?
Do you anticipate significant changes in vehicle size or operation across the fleet?
b. Are there any emerging technologies which we haven’t taken account of which you
believe could play an important part in decarbonising the HGV fleet in 2035?
13. We would like to seek your views on the feasible potential uptake of the specified
technologies across the fleet. We have provided the detail of DfT’s current uptake
assumptions under low and high uptake scenarios in the attached spreadsheet on sheet 7.
No specific assumptions have been made about the policies that might be required to drive
this uptake but the relative uptake rates across different technologies have been informed
by our previous assessment of cost-effectiveness. Improvements to tyres and aerodynamics
for long haul and regional delivery duty cycles are not included here. Our previous analysis
has suggested that these technologies are cost-effective and therefore we would see uptake
of these technologies under a business-as-usual scenario.
14. Finally we would be interested in your views on what policy measures might be required in
order to deliver the levels of uptake you believe are feasible out to 2030.
Annex 1 : Duty cycle definitions
For the purpose of the modelling, we intend to break down the HGV fleet into the UK into
the following 6 categories:
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Municipal Utility - Low speed, many stops e.g. refuse collection, sweepers.
Construction - Construction site vehicles with delivery from central stores to few local
customers e.g. tippers, concrete mixers.
Long Haul -Delivery to national and international sites. Long periods of high constant
speed with few periods of urban operation
Regional Delivery - Delivery of goods from a regional warehouse to local stores. Includes
periods of constant high speed and urban operation.
Urban Delivery - Delivery of goods mostly in cities or suburban areas. Includes frequent
stop start driving.
Service – Rigid vehicles of <=7.5tonnes which operate in a similar manner to urban
delivery vehicles.
Annex 2 – Definitions of technology
The definitions set out below have been drawn from two reports relating to low carbon HGV
technology:
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A review of the efficiency and cost assumptions for road transport vehicles to 2050 (AEA,
2012); and
Reduction and testing of GHG emissions from HDVs (AEA, 2011)
If there are technologies not covered please provide brief descriptions and performance evidence
for them to be considered for inclusion in the final model
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
Single Wide Tyres: Replacement of dual tyres on an axle with a lower aspect ratio single
wide tyre
Spray Reduction Mudflaps: The mud flap separates the water from the air through a series
of vertical passages created by vanes which makes the spray change direction a number of
times eliminating the water.
Aero Fairings: Additional add-ons to cabs that help reduce aerodynamic drag and improve
fuel consumption. Includes cab deflectors and cab collars and can be retrofitted.
Aero Trailer Bodies: Trailers / bodies designed to improve vehicle aerodynamics, e.g.:
teardrop shapes, or those integrating multiple aerodynamic features into a complete
package.
Predictive cruise control: Systems that use electronic horizon data to improve the fuel
efficiency of vehicles, combining GPS with Cruise Control to better understand the road
ahead for optimal speed control.
AMT (Automatic Manual Transmission): A manual layshaft transmission which has
automatic actuation of gearshifts and clutch operation
Pneumatic Booster: Compressed air from vehicle braking system is injected rapidly into the
air path and allows a faster vehicle acceleration, which allows an earlier gear shift (short
shifting), resulting in the engine operating more in an efficient engine speed / load range.
viii.
ix.
x.
xi.
xii.
xiii.
xiv.
xv.
xvi.
xvii.
Electrical turbocompounding: Exhaust turbine used in combination with an electric
generator / motor to recover exhaust energy: (i) Recovered energy can be stored or used by
other electrical devices; (ii) Motor during transients to accelerate.
Gas engines: Either dedicated gas or dual fuel engines which allow the vehicle to run fully or
partially on natural gas/biomethane or other road fuel gases.
Alternative fuel bodies: Replacement of existing power sources for vehicle bodies which use
diesel for power. For body types with high auxiliary requirements like Refuse Collection
Vehicles, refrigerated transport (and some construction vehicles), additional efficiency gains
can be achieved by powering these systems via electric battery storage or alternative fuels,
rather than off the main engine.
Flywheel Hybrid: An additional flywheel that stores and releases energy. The flywheel stores
energy, while braking for example, releasing it to supplement or temporarily replace the
engine output
Stop Start system: System uses a high-voltage e-motor mounted to the crankshaft to
operate stop / start, i.e. stopping the engine running whenever the vehicle is stationary,
along with regenerative braking
Electric vehicles: Vehicle is driven by an electric motor powered by batteries which are
charged from mains electricity. The vehicle has no other power source other than the
battery
Mechanical turbocompounding: Exhaust gas energy recovery with additional exhaust
turbine, which is linked to a gear drive and transfers the energy on to the crankshaft
providing extra torque.
Heat Recovery: Exhaust gas energy recovery with heat exchangers. Sometimes called
“bottoming cycles”, this concept uses exhaust gas heat in an exchanger to drive an
additional power turbine to generate energy. Similar to the secondary heat recovery cycle
for light duty vehicles.
Weight Reduction/lightweighting: Intensive use of aluminium alloys in tractor chassis and
body, trailer and powertrain achieving total combined unit weight savings of up to 2,000kg
or around 900 kg for tractor body and chassis.
Full Hybrid: Typically implemented as hybrid electric vehicles where electrical energy is
stored in batteries which can be used to drive an electric motor to power the vehicle or
supplement engine power