We are just at the beginning of a revolution in the powering of trucks, but we are already debating the issue of electric or hydrogen for trucks? This news piece from Deutche Welle runs through the issues which we need to discuss, as we head down the road to the brave new world of zero carbon emissions.
This is a very euro-centric news report, but it goes through the same discussions and problems, which we will have to face in Australia. The only difference is that heavier masses and longer hauls are more common here than elsewhere.
These points need to be brought to the attention of those who regulate our industry and to the customers of the transport operators. The issues are not going to go away and cannot be ignored. One way or another, the Australian economy will have to transition across to lower carbon emissions.
There are so many different aspects to the transition which have to be taken into account, and this report goes a long way to explaining those issues in a succinct and easily understandable way. There are going to be those who choose to ignore the issues, but as the world moves across to zero carbon, the change becomes inevitable.
If anything, the discussion should not be around the rights or wrongs of the change, but about the process required to get there and the specific needs of a very different economy like the one in Australia.
It’s probably a question of balance, and priorities. In Europe, electric trucks are going to be able to handle a high proportion of the freight task, with hydrogen, whether a fuel cell or hydrogen internal combustion engine, making up the difference.
Here in Australia, that proportion needing to use hydrogen is going to be much larger, the extra cost, and the need for substantial hydrogen infrastructure is going to be a major discussion point.
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