At a Climate Week NY 2024 session hosted by Smart Freight Centre and BloombergNEF (BNEF), a report, “Zero-Emission Commercial Vehicles: The Time is Now,” highlighted the pressing need to accelerate the adoption of zero-emission trucks. The Dutch government supports the report.
The report provides a detailed analysis of the current state of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) and emphasizes the logistics industry’s critical moment. It also provides an overview of the global zero-emission trucks market, global policies, and financing solutions. The report calls for urgent investment to scale up zero-emission truck deployment to meet global decarbonization goals. Innovative business and financing models can help the market scale up.
The Time for Investment is Critical
Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles contribute disproportionately to transportation emissions and are not on track to meet the Paris Agreement targets. Without swift action, emissions from these vehicles will continue to fuel the climate crisis. The report highlights the necessity of ramping up investments in ZEV technology and infrastructure, noting that doing so will reduce emissions and deliver significant benefits, including improved public health, energy security, and technological innovation.
Building Policy and Market Momentum
While zero-emission medium and heavy truck sales are growing rapidly, the market remains in its early stages. Adoption rates differ across countries and vehicle applications, but the economy improves as battery prices drop. The report identifies opportunities for innovative financing and business models to help scale the market. The urgency for action is apparent as momentum builds—driven by progressive policies.
Failing to act now could hinder global decarbonization progress and leave companies at a competitive disadvantage as demand for zero-emission solutions grows.
Petrouschka Werther, Director of Sustainable Mobility from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands, stated: “This report by Bloomberg NEF shows there is a growing global market for low- and zero-emission trucks. While China dominates the market in absolute numbers, Europe is quickly gaining pace due to policy ambition and industry leadership. The opportunity to invest in zero-emission trucks is now. Investments in zero-emission trucks are currently low and hampered by various barriers like high upfront capital costs, low infrastructure availability, and lower range compared to diesel trucks. Nonetheless, zero-emission vehicle technology is developing fast, with battery-electric trucks reaching cost-parity with diesel soon. Governments have an important role to play in the roll-out of charging and refueling infrastructure, as well as addressing related issues with grid congestion.”
Nikolas Soulopoulos, lead author of the report and head of BloombergNEF’s Commercial Transport research team, stated, “Electric trucks are fast becoming economically competitive to equivalent diesel vehicles, starting with shorter routes. As battery technology continues to improve and costs come down, we expect heavy-duty long-haul battery trucks to reach total cost of ownership parity in most markets by 2030. The challenges of high upfront capital costs and installing enough charging infrastructure are real. Still, we’re also seeing innovative business models and financing structures being deployed successfully around the world to tackle these,”
Source: Smart Freight Center