The European Commission, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament have reached an agreement on the CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles today. While the political agreement positively includes electrified trailers and hydrogen engines, it falls short of embracing carbon neutral fuels.
in CLEPA, 18-01-2024
Benjamin Krieger, Secretary General of CLEPA, the European association of automotive suppliers, says, “We see positive movement with the inclusion of hydrogen fuelled engines and eTrailers, however, the role of renewable fuels as a complement to e-mobility still needs to be clearly defined.”
The review and assessment of the regulation will be essential to ensure the feasibility of the interim and longer-term targets which are the most ambitious targets to date and will be extremely challenging to achieve. A CO2 reduction of 45% by 2030 will require more than 400,000 zero-emission trucks on the roads – around 100,000 new zero-emissions trucks registered annually. Currently, less than 1% of newly registered trucks are electric, and many of the enabling conditions are lacking*.
Mr. Krieger goes on to say, “Progress towards electrification of the fleet and deployment of enabling conditions should be thoroughly reviewed in 2027, and if necessary, we should remain open to considering all technology options to reach compliance.”
The agreement will still need to be formally adopted in the coming weeks.
*Source: Statista, ACEA, European Commission, FuelsEurope