TruckandTrackSummer2020

Truck and Track Summer 2020 www.truckandtrack.com 46 LOGISTICS UK NEWS DavidWells On 27 July 2020, FTA changed its name to Logistics UK. FTA has always represented the whole sector, with members from road, rail, sea and air, as well as those with goods to move like retailers and manufacturers. As you may know, we originally planned the change to take place earlier in the year but postponed it during the Covid-19 crisis to focus on supporting our members. FTA will not be changing its focus or the important services, support and advice it provides to its 18,000+ member businesses. The new website, logistics.org.uk, went live on 27 July 2020. Our phone numbers remain the same and our email addresses have reverted automatically; for reference, you can reach the press team by dialling 01892 552255 or emailing press.off ice@logistics.org.uk. David Wells, Chief Executive at FTA, comments: “FTA is strong because of its size and scale and because we already represent all of logistics, a very large sector critical to the success of UK plc. The name change to Logistics UK is a natural progression and makes it more obvious to stakeholders, like policymakers and young people looking to develop a career in logistics, that we are the only business group that represents the whole industry. I believe this change will strengthen our position, and give us a great opportunity to achieve even more for members in the months and years to come.” FTA changes its name to Logistics UK From fully electric vehicles to biomethane-powered trucks, there are many different paths logistics businesses can take to decarbonise their operations. And for an increasing number of businesses, hydrogen powered trucks – also known as Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV) – present an attractive low- carbon solution. Hydrogen as a fuel is drawing significant investment worldwide, with analysts from BloombergNEF predicting that clean hydrogen could meet 24% of demand for energy worldwide by 2050. In this column, I will unpick some of the hype surrounding hydrogen and try to determine the fuel’s place in the decarbonisation of road transport. The buzz around hydrogen According to the European Commission, increased use of hydrogen will be key to achieving the European Green Deal and, ultimately, transitioning Europe into a climate neutral economy by 2050. As the most abundant element in the universe – and with water being its only waste product in vehicle use – unlocking the power of hydrogen would help to transition society away from a reliance on fossil fuels. And the technology is evolving quickly; Hyundai Motor Company has already produced the world’s first mass-produced fuel cell heavy-duty truck, and only this year, Air Liquide and the Port of Rotterdam Authority launched an initiative to get 1,000 hydrogen-powered, zero-emission trucks on the roads by 2025. Barriers tomass use Of course, FCEVs are not a perfect solution; there are several barriers government and manufacturers must overcome before they will become a readily available, mass-market, zero emission option. For FCEVs to be truly zero carbon, the hydrogen must be produced renewably; round 96% of hydrogen is made from fossil fuels currently. In the document, A hydrogen strategy for a climate- neural economy, the European Commission recognises that clean hydrogen is not cost competitive compared to fossil-based hydrogen and has made it a priority to tackle this issue, pledging to ensure renewably-sourced hydrogen will be readily available and affordable by 2050. Another challenge is the lack of infrastructure to support their use; right now, there are only around 17 public charging points installed in the UK for FCEVs, compared to around 18,700 points for electric vehicles. While the UK government and industry seem focused on full electrification as the solution to decarbonisation – as evident by the differing investments into infrastructure – as electric HGVs are only slowly coming onto the market, businesses are looking towards alternative gases to fuel their fleets in a more sustainable fashion in the short-term, at least. Currently, the biggest barrier to the development of electric HGVs is the weight of the batteries; these vehicles require large, heavy batteries and, as there are legal restrictions as tohowmuchweightHGVs can carry, this significantly compromises the payload. And given the limitations with range, electric vehicles are well suited to lighter vehicles making shorter, more urban journeys; it will be many years before we will see them being the main users of the strategic road network. While FCEVs continue to attract interest from businesses and governments globally, in my view, the vehicles are best utilised as a practical, interim option for businesses while a longer-term solution to electric HGV battery technology is developed. Logistics UK is one of the UK’s leading business groups, representing logistics businesses which are vital to keeping the UK trading, and more than seven million people directly employed in the making, selling and moving of goods. With Covid-19, Brexit, new technology and other disruptive forces driving change in the way goods move across borders and through the supply chain, logistics has never been more important to UK plc. Logistics UK supports, shapes and stands up for safe and efficient logistics, and is the only business group which represents the whole industry, with members from the road, rail, sea and air industries, as well as the buyers of freight services such as retailers andmanufacturerswhose businesses depend on the efficient movement of goods. For more information about the organisation and its work, including its ground-breaking research into the impacts of Covid-19 on the whole supply chain, please visit logistics.org.uk . Hydrogen: What role will it play in the UK’s zero emission future? By Phil Lloyd, Head of Engineering Policy, Logistics UK Phil Lloyd LOADS MORE FOR THE PALLET NETWORKS 01543 420 121 www.deker.co.uk