Description:
The LowCVP, in collaboration with Transport for London, is holding a stakeholder workshop in London to progress the Partnership's commercial vehicle activity, including the accreditation scheme for after-market technologies as well as providing opportunities for operators and others to collaborate in a new, DfT-funded test programme to benchmark vehicles powered by natural gas/biomethane. The group will also commence activity on the specific actions needed to stimulate low carbon urban freight solutions, and gain insight into complementary programmes being run by TfL and DfT.
In earlier work the LowCVP has identified three main opportunities for cutting emissions from HGVs which pointed to the need for specific interventions: independent testing to validate the effectiveness of retrofit technology; conversion to the use of natural gas/biomethane; and supporting the uptake of hybrid and pure electric vehicles, particularly for use in urban environments.
The workshop will also provide the opportunity to connect with and influence the future work programme of the LowCVP’s Commercial Vehicle Working Group, which will drive forward these and other initiatives in the freight decarbonisation area.
One of the key opportunities identified in the earlier LowCVP work for cutting carbon from HGVs in the UK was to increase the uptake of existing retrofit technology by operators in the market. Independent verification of the performance of technologies and a credible assessment of the applicability of equipment to different operational environments were identified as key requirements.
A test process has already been developed and is ready for peer review and launch. The next phase will be to develop an umbrella accreditation process for approving/certifying low carbon technologies for HGV applications. The scheme will also assess the operational characteristics of the technologies, and their applicability, for potential operators.
The scheme will provide test results and recommendations to DfT/OLEV for stimulating uptake. Its test protocol has many potential future applications in the evaluation of cleaner truck technologies. (For more details, see press release.)
With the Low Carbon Truck Trial (LCTT) nearing its final phase, and the emergence of Euro VI gas vehicle technology for HGVs, the LowCVP is also managing a new test programme for the Department for Transport to benchmark the latest gas trucks for emissions including methane, carbon dioxide (CO2) and NOx, and fuel consumption. (More details here.)
Other collaborators in the LowCVP’s commercial vehicle initiatives include the Department for Transport, OLEV, Freight Transport Association, Road Haulage Association, Centre for Sustainable Road Freight and Green Freight Europe plus private companies including Millbrook, MIRA, Mercedes, Michelin, Stobart Group and TRL.
Contact Brian Robinson or Andy Eastlake via the LowCVP Secretariat for more information or to indicate your interest in attending the stakeholder workshop on 30 November by emailing the LowCVP secretariat..
Please include your full name, organisation, job title, email and phone details in the email.