Australia Needs To Electrify Its Heavy Vehicles “Yesterday”, Says Adiona Tech

While the consumer switch to EVs is accelerating, logistics software company Adiona Tech says the electrifying Australia’s truck fleet offers a much greater decarbonisation opportunity.

The finding was published in a report called Connected Thinking (PDF here) earlier this month.

Adiona said electrifying just ten small delivery trucks would eliminate emissions equivalent to 56 households purchasing electric cars.

But the heavy vehicle fleet offers the greatest opportunity: articulated trucks are only 1% of the vehicles on our roads, but they produce 15% of all emissions, Adiona Tech study found.

The company says the government’s National Electric Vehicle Strategy, released in April, needs to prioritise commercial fleets, particularly the least fuel-efficient vehicles, rather than passenger cars.

Adiona Tech CEO Richard Savoie said:

“The electrification of the Australian fleet needs to run in parallel to other transport programs designed to reduce emissions, lower congestion and traffic, and make cities more liveable.

“Organisations like Transport for NSW are trying to reduce total kilometres driven, especially by passenger cars, while global transport agencies are committed to converting car drivers to public transport, cycling, and walking with an emphasis on creating 30-minute cities.”

However, an articulated truck covers six times the distance of a passenger car each year, uses 40 times the fuel, and produces 50 times the CO2.

Unless action is taken, Adiona Tech believes, things will only get worse. The World Economic Forum predicts delivery vehicle numbers to rise by 36% in just the world’s top-100 cities by 2030 (PDF here).

“Australia is already behind every other developed nation on electric vehicles, and while we’re playing catch up, we can’t forget the biggest emitters on the road,” said Savoie said.

“The National EV strategy is a start, but we need low emissions zones yesterday. We need much bigger financial incentives for businesses to switch to more expensive EVs. Current grants barely bridge the gap. They are not sufficient to change peoples’ minds and change Australia’s roads.”

Original Source: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/electrify-heavy-vehicles-yesterday/