Sacha Damski

Identification of barriers to the electrification of road freight and evaluation of strategies to overcome them

In the context of the climate change objectives, road freight is a challenging sector to decarbonise. The solutions currently discussed range from decarbonised fuels to hydrogen and vehicle electrification. Several analyses have shown that electrification with an electrical road system (ERS) could be a part of the ideal technical solution as it would be cheaper (at the system level) and use fewer resources while maintaining high flexibility for fleet operators. Yet, there is no plan to deploy it in Europe or the UK, and it is unclear how the decarbonisation objectives will be met. This analysis focuses on understanding the vision of the different stakeholders and identifying decarbonisation pathways. It is based on semi-structured interviews with stakeholders combined with complementary quantitative analyses of the discussed challenges. The results showed that electrification should, at the minimum, play an important role in decarbonisation, while alternative fuels and hydrogen were seen as secondary options or limited to special cases. Regarding barriers, amongst others, the perception of roadworks, political challenges and economic costs were highlighted as key considerations. The quantitative analyses showed that the cost of electrical grid connections, large batteries and additional delays would make electrification without an ERS less cost-effective. Finally, based on the insights of the previous analyses, a recommended pathway for the initial development of an ERS was proposed. This involves starting with a small-scale project funded by private companies, for which it would be more cost-effective than investing in high-power chargers.