In the coming years, the typical road transport operator in Australia will be having to work out a position in the alternative power space. They will need to look at their operation and start to develop a plan for the transition of their operation across to low/zero carbon operation.

There will be a need to fully analyse the way that the operation works and the various different components within that operation. Armed with that data they can then look at the different technology mixes available, concentrating on those which may be required in order to fulfil the needs of the operation.

With simple tasks, the options may be relatively limited and simple. In urban areas, it will be about variations on a theme. BETs are going to be the most likely solution, but for others the decision may be more difficult and getting this technology mix right is going to be an important requirement for those involved in the trucking industry.

The investment in the technology to move towards zero emissions is expensive and a lot of the technologies are not fully proven in the situations which can arise in the Australian freight task.

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This means there are going to be some businesses which will dive in and try one one technology or another, in order to see if it will work for their operation. Then there will be others who might just sit back and wait to see how the technology mix which suits them plays out over the next few years.

However, even if the operator has chosen to be one of those who waits and sees, it is important for them to be up to speed on all of the technology options now, to understand how they may or may not develop over time.

As the zero carbon knowledge base increases, it will be important to make preparations in order to make that transition across to zero carbon as it develops.

The industry does need to be prepared, not only understanding the options, but also monitoring how those options play out in the real world. For many there is often more than one option available.