Freight energy forum launched

The new Freight Energy forum, part of the Government’s Future of Freight plan, is meeting today (Wednesday 5 April) to bring together representatives from the energy and freight industries, including individual operating companies, national organisations and sector associations, such as the Road Haulage Association, Logistics UK, and National Grid.

Chaired by DfT officials and senior representatives from across the government, the forum will support the sector across all modes, including rail, road, air, maritime, and warehousing, to reach net zero by 2050.

The forum will explore ways to reduce emissions in the short term and develop a roadmap for future clean energy infrastructure for the industry in the long term. It will be technology-neutral and examine potential solutions for the freight sector without prioritising one type of technology.

The forum will also evaluate the supply and demand of energy required by the freight sector, identify the types of energy infrastructure needed for refuelling or recharging, and determine where they should be located across the regions, including motorway service areas, warehouses, rail freight terminals, airports, ports, and other relevant locations.

Transport Minister Richard Holden said: “We recognise that the transition to clean fuels is one of the biggest challenges facing the freight sector, and we are committed to delivering a strong future for the sector that will help create good long-term jobs.

“Clean energy supplies and infrastructure is critical to the drive for a cleaner freight sector, and the Freight Energy Forum will address those longer-term challenges across the whole industry.”

The Government’s Future of Freight plan was published in June 2022 and sets out how it can deliver a cost-efficient, reliable, resilient and environmentally sustainable freight sector. One of the five priority areas it identified to achieve this goal was to establish this forum to help enable the transition to net zero.

Meeting quarterly, the forum will look to produce several items from its meetings including:

• A roadmap plan outlining the rollout of clean energy infrastructure for the freight sector
• A review into the regulatory barriers to implementing zero carbon energy infrastructure, including where the planning system makes the installation of this infrastructure difficult and solutions to removing these obstacles
• Actions to address regional and local differences in the coverage of zero carbon energy infrastructure and understanding where the zero-carbon energy infrastructure will be needed, making sure there’s good regional coverage, and that the planning system allows for the infrastructure to be built.
• Assessing energy supply and demand across all types of freight transport.
• Identifying solutions that can help the entire freight sector to start reducing emissions immediately and increase the speed of transition to net zero.

Senior Policy Manager at Logistics UK Denise Beedell said:“As the only business group representing the whole of the logistics industry, Logistics UK is delighted to be part of the Freight Energy Forum and represent the needs of our members in identifying and clarifying the energy infrastructure and solutions which will be needed if the industry is to reach Net Zero.”

The Road Haulage Association’s lead on the environment and vehicles Chris Ashley said:“The RHA strongly welcomes the Freight Energy Forum. The manufacture of electric and hydrogen lorries is only one part of the jigsaw that gets these vehicles on our roads quickly. The other part is the infrastructure needed to power them.

“Our members are keen to start operating these vehicles as soon as possible yet face considerable cost headwinds. Public investment in the UK’s energy capability is therefore essential to ensure a viable and reliable energy supply exists. We look forward to scoping how this achieved so that all parts of the UK economy can be serviced by our members.”