Page 3 - Commercial Vehicle Engineer - October 2021

EDITORIAL & DESIGN
Immediate Network Ltd
Ferneberga House, Alexandra Rd, Farnborough GU14 6DQ
w: inl.co.uk
EDITOR
Dan Parton
t: 07941 979 845 e: dan@inl.co.uk
ADVERTISING
Dan Parton
t: 07941 979 845 e: dan@inl.co.uk
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Stuart Masson
Editorial Director t: 07543 300 719 e: stuart@inl.co.uk
PUBLISHED BY
Immediate Network Ltd
Ferneberga House, Alexandra Rd, Farnborough GU14 6DQ
w: inl.co.uk
MAKING THE SWITCH
W atching on in the past couple of weeks as a small news story
about a few filling stations having supply issues rapidly escalated into a national fuel
crisis with queues for petrol and diesel around the country, it served as a reminder that there are many benefits of switching to alternative forms of power for commercial vehicles.
Scenes such as those witnessed in late September
should hopefully be confined to nostalgia-based
TV shows featuring D-list comedians saying things like ‘fuel crises, what were they
all about?’ in years to come, as the switch to electric or hydrogen power accelerates ahead of the government’s deadline for phasing out petrol and diesel engined vehicles in this country.
While electric and hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles still only make up a very small proportion of the fleet on the road, the number is growing and will accelerate in the months and years to come as more operators renew their fleet and, especially for urban-based trucks and vans, seek electric rather than ICE options.
Of course, with the increasing number of clean air zones and their ilk coming into force around the country – or planned to – this will also help to focus minds.
This is leading to new entrants to the market, such as bus maker Equipmake, which has recently launched its Jewel E double decker, which has new technology that enables it to provide a greater range than other models on the market. Read more on that on p24.
While non-ICE-based long distance haulage options have been thin on the ground due to expense and practicality issues, a feasibility study is currently being conducted into the potential for electrifying the nation’s motorway network and enabling trucks to connect directly to overhead power cables.
The idea may initially seem wacky, as Professor David Cebon from the Centre
for Sustainable Road Transport concedes, but, when seen in operation – and the numbers behind them that makes it sustainable and profitable – it could be the solution to the problem that the industry has been looking for, as he explains in more detail on p14.
Whether this potential solution makes it onto our roads will be seen in time, but could be an important step on banishing fuel crises in the future.
THE TRUCK EXPERT THE VAN EXPERT THE CAR EXPERT
COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER > OCTOBER 2021 3