As the deadline for net-zero by 2050 moves evercloser, decarbonisation is increasingly topping the agenda as a high priority for both fleet operators and truck manufacturers, but nobody says it is going to be easy and there are many hurdles ahead as we move into the deep winter months.
While virtually all manufacturers have long started on the journey to electric mobility, the race to put in place a fit for purpose charging infrastructure isn’t quite matching that progress. As Logistic UK’s Seamus Leheny points out in his regular column for us, Northern Ireland operators wanting to make the switch to electric still face many challenges with the lowest number of public charging devices per 100,000 of population. The figure for Northern Ireland stands at 18 per 100,000, which is significantly low when compared to 122 for London, and an overall of 60 for Scotland.
There are also concerns that as the industry heads for decarbonisation, charging points may not be suitable for all commercial vehicles, so Logistics UK is calling for public electric vehicle charge points to be fully accessible to light goods vehicles with sufficient head space, larger parking bays and longer charging cables. That’s a good call and we support it.
Staying with all things electric, Iveco recently put its new eDAILY at the disposal of journalists during an event in Turin in Italy. They were among the first in the world to be able to compare the performance and drivability of the electric model with its diesel equivalent, and we have a full report on that story in this issue.
We have also been behind the wheel of the new DAF XD series, travelling to Sitges south west of Barcelona in sunny Spain, to find out more about this award winning truck.
On the shipping front, we hear from Barry O’Connell who has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer at the Dublin Port Company, and we take a look at Stena Line’s new passenger terminal at Victoria Terminal 2 in Belfast Harbour.
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