DARe hosts joint workshop on achieving resilient freight electromobility

Focused on the resilience and electrification of road and rail freight, the event brought together 80 people from across the transport and energy sectors, including British and Scottish government, national energy providers, freight and logistics companies, transport infrastructure operators, civic authorities, and academia.  

The transport sector is the largest contributor to UK domestic greenhouse gas emissions, but it is also the engine of economic growth and a thriving society. Freight and logistics are indispensable to the UK, contributing £185 billion of value to the economy in 2022, and serving as a vital link between the UK and the global market.  

In 2021, Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) made up 20% of domestic transport emissions, with light van use increasing from the previous year to contribute 17% of emissions. From 2023-2024, freight train emissions rose 2% compared with the previous year. In a world experiencing the devastating impacts of global warming and climate change quicker than anticipated, we need to decarbonise our freight and logistics channels, fast. Electrifying freight transport plays a vital role in mitigating climate change and achieving net zero and sustainability goals but also presents significant challenges due to its interconnectedness with energy and other sectors.  

Climate change exacerbates these challenges. Extreme weather events such as storms, floods, and heatwaves can disrupt both energy supply and transport infrastructure. The recent Storm Darragh (December 2024) is a perfect example, with homes and businesses across England and Wales left without power, and road and rail networks coming to a halt due to blockages and flooding. Our infrastructure is vulnerable to shifting weather patterns and sudden losses of power, and to keep our networks moving we need to improve resilience.  

But what does our infrastructure need to be most resilient against? Where should we build new charging infrastructure? How can we ensure the reliability of alternative energy sources? What are the regulatory and policy frameworks needed? These are just some of the key questions and issues surrounding resilience and electrification in freight.  

Throughout the two-day event in Edinburgh, participants heard from a diverse range of expert speakers, including: Scott Mathieson, Scottish Power Energy Networks (SPEN); Ed Thomson, Transport Scotland; Mads Bentzen Billesø, DFDS; Professor Hayley Fowler, Newcastle University; Tom Hodges, Department for Transport; Laura Marquis, Department for Transport; Ailidh Meek, SPEN; Robin Yellow, BP; and Professor Colin Herron, Newcastle University.  

As well as an interesting panel discussion, joined by Malcolm Wilkinson from National Highways and Chris Brain from Vantec, attendees took part in several group discussions, sharing insights and experiences, and the problems their organisation or area needed to resolve.  

Some of the key feedback that emerged over the course of the event included: 

• the electric transition requires a substantial increase in electricity demand, necessitating robust and reliable grid infrastructure;  
• the interconnectedness between energy and transport introduces complexities in aspects such as energy management, grid technologies, storage solutions and resilience to extreme weather; 
• coordination across various sectors and stakeholders is absolutely crucial, but does add layers of complexity to the decarbonisation process; 
• clear policy and governance are needed for strategic planning – multiple sectors (energy, transport, telecoms), are looking for guidance on how to navigate the transition to electrification; 
• low-carbon fuels (biofuels, hydrogen, synthetic fuels) could help to lower the carbon footprint of logistics operations alongside electrification;  
• modal shifts and enhancing efficiency, whether of vehicle design or via route and load optimisation, will reduce emissions; 
• the biggest challenges may be the level of investment required in infrastructure and new fleets of electric vehicles, especially HGVs; 
• we do not have enough data, and we need to ensure there is data sharing amongst and across sectors if we’re going to find the answers to the big questions;  
• whilst electrification presents problems and challenges, it also offers a range of significant opportunities, within technology, systems management, and collaboration;  
• we need to act now, and the UK needs transformational, rather than incremental change.  

Addressing these challenges requires coordinated efforts from government, industry stakeholders, technology developers, and academia to create a supportive environment for the widespread adoption of EVs in freight and logistics.

The DARe, TransiT, and ENSIGN Hubs are committed to continuing collaborative research with their partners and stakeholders, so that together, we can help to drive this essential transition forward. Following the workshop, the Hubs will aim to identify strategic priorities where we can work together and enhance the portfolio of funded research, and deliver some common outputs and tools.

An executive summary of the workshop will be available to Project Partners soon. If you would like to attend one of our events or workshops, or find out more about DARe, please get in touch.