Goods transport sector bears a heavy environmental load

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, in Ireland road transport accounts for 19.1 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions – the highest contributor by a significant margin – and an increase of 6 per cent from 2021 to 2022. Heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), while a minority in vehicles on the road at just 2 per cent, are responsible for almost a third of emissions (27 per cent) across Europe. Could emissions-free HGVs be the solution?

In for the long haul

Eugene Drennan, president of the Irish Road Hauliers Association, says that while emissions-free HGVs are possible, the infrastructure to support them isn’t there at the moment – not only in terms of recharging batteries over the course of a journey but even in the size of batteries required for the driving range of HGVs.

“It would have to be a dedicated task to implement the conditions and needs that will work for the distance of the battery. You can’t have that without the infrastructure,” says Drennan.

He also makes the point that the necessary ingredients for emissions-free HGVs, such as hydrogen, are in short supply and high demand. He also believes that the impact on Africa, where mining for the materials needed takes place, has to be acknowledged and reduced.

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An island nation

Ireland faces a unique issue when it comes to creating and implementing emissions-free HGVs, says Drennan.

“While the EU and Ireland have to sign up to and achieve better emissions levels, the geographic fact that we’re an island must be taken into account – and that creates its own set of problems,” he adds.

Drennan points out that Irish HGVs use ferries to get to continental Europe “and the impact of something going wrong on a ferry with a battery or the hydrogen used – should it go on fire, for example” is potentially catastrophic. “The liability is too high for Ireland,” he says.

He believes there needs to be a review of the EU budget for fossil fuel.

“We have to see how we can do better with these limitations, taking into account the necessity of the supply chain for Ireland and getting to market,” he says.

A balance needs to be struck, he suggests, between Ireland’s goods transport requirements and reducing the sector’s carbon emissions.