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Reducing CO2 emissionsfrom heavy-duty vehiclesAN INTEGRATED APPROACH

1. WHAT PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE?Transport is currently responsible for around a quarter of totalgreenhouse gas emissions, with road transport representing17.8% of total emissions, arising from the use of vehicles.Of this, all heavy-duty vehicles in Europe combined accountfor 5% of Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions, while theyare responsible for carrying 75% of all land-based freight.As a comparison, energy supply is responsible for 30% ofemissions and industry for 19%.Sources ofgreenhouse gasemissions in Europe5% heavy-duty vehiclesThe truck industry remains committed to continuing to30%energysupplylower greenhouse gas emissions through more fuel-efficienttechnology (such as common rail injection, GPS-basedautomated gearboxes, highly-efficient exhaust after-treatmentsystems). This comes in addition to further improvementsof combustion and air handling, aerodynamics, low rollingresistance tyres and advanced control systems.Transport of freightover land in Europe75% heavy-duty vehicles25%transport19%industry18% rail26%other7% inland waterwaysBetween the early nineties and 2013, the main focusof policy makers and the industry was on achievingdramatic decreases in pollutant emissions, such as NOxand PM. To that end, six sets of ‘Euro’ standards wereintroduced in just over 20 years.g/kWhPollutant emissions have been slashed to near-zero levels1086Euro I0.6Euro IIEuro IIIEuro IVEuro VEuro VINOx0.5-95%0.30.44As a result, pollutant emissions from the latestEuro VI heavy-duty vehicles have been slashedto near-zero levels.2PM0.2-98%0.11991However, it should be understood that reducingpollutant emissions requires conflicting measures toreducing CO2 emissions. This ‘technological trade-off’made it extremely difficult to decrease CO2emissions simultaneously.1996 20002005NOxCO220082013CO2NOx-Further reducing CO2 emissions from heavy-duty vehiclesPer tonne transported, this innovation has resultedin a fuel consumption of as little as nearly one litreof fuel per 100 tonne-km, delivering a significantreduction of CO2 emissions.10098CO2 emissionsWith the major investments in reducing pollutantemissions behind it, the industry then shifted focusto reducing CO2 emissions and succeeded inreducing fuel consumption by about 8% over the lastfive years.CO296-8%949290201120122013201420152016Data: Lastauto Omnibus, Trucker Magazine & Green Truck Award

2. WHY IS THE TRUCK MARKET SO COMPLEX?The end-use or ‘mission’ of trucks varies widely – theymay for instance be used for long-haul or regionaldelivery, for construction or for municipality use.Depending on their mission, most trucks are custombuilt on an individual basis in order to meet specificrequirements, from the number of axles to the size of theengine and fuel tank, to the size of the cab or the heightof the chassis.Furthermore, when we take the complete vehicleinto account – the rigid body or a tractor plus trailer– the heavy-duty vehicle market becomes even morecomplex. There are literally thousands of shapesand sizes of trucks.There simply is no‘one-size-fits-all’ approachfor heavy-duty vehiclesAny strategy to reduce CO2 emissionsfrom heavy-duty vehicles has to take accountof the key features of trucks: he shape of the vehicles, which depends on theirTdaily ‘mission’. he same tractor or engine may end up pulling veryTdifferent trailers and combinations, affecting theCO2 emissions of the complete vehicle. T he usage pattern of the vehicles and their cargo,in other words, ‘the work they do’.KgIs the payload heavy or light, large or small?Is the road flat or hilly? Will the vehicle travel over a long distancein one go, or is the journey short withmany starts and stops? All these variables result in different CO2 emissions.Considering the complexity of the truck marketwith several thousand shapes and sizes, introducinglegislation suitable for all variations is extremelychallenging. There simply is no ‘one-size-fits-all’approach for heavy-duty vehicles.Trucks are not ‘big cars’. CO2 reduction policy for heavyduty vehicles should therefore not follow the sameapproach as that for passenger cars.

3. BRINGING THE MOST FUEL-EFFICIENTVEHICLES TO THE MARKETWhy is fuel efficiency so important to the truck customers?Operating costs of a truckRoad tax: 2%Depreciation: 10%Vehicle insurance: 6%Interest: 2%Overhead: 18%Tyres: 1%Wages: 26%Repair andmaintenance: 5%Fuel: 30%Trucks and buses are economic goods, whichmakes fuel efficiency a key element in thepurchase decision.Fuel represents around 30% of the running costs inthe transport sector. Given the competition betweentransport service providers for goods and people,strong economic incentives exist for fuel efficiencyimprovement.How will customer information be improved with VECTO?Giving customers transparent and reliable fuel consumptioninformation based on a common testing method will allowthem to select the most CO2-efficient vehicle.Since 2010, the European Commission has been workingclosely with the industry on a computer simulation tool(VECTO), which will model CO2 emissions from a widevariety of complete truck and trailer configurations.This means that VECTO will be able to reflect thecomplexity of the heavy-duty vehicle market, as it takesEU market, using this VECTO tool.This CO2 certification has a lot of potential to significantlyreduce CO2 emissions from trucks, as it provides a credible,standardised way of comparing fuel efficiency. It will lead toincreased transparency and competition among manufacturers,driving the market uptake of the cleanest vehicles.Before setting the direction for future CO2 reduction policy,we first need to have a clear understanding of the baselinethe variables into account that affect the CO2 emissions– reflecting today’s level of truck CO2 emissions.of complete vehicles.VECTO is a necessary tool to close this knowledge gap. It isThe upcoming EU legislation on the certification ofessential that policy makers give time to analyse the impactCO2 from heavy-duty vehicles will require a mandatoryof this data collection and certification procedure beforedeclaration of CO2 values for each truck produced for theconsidering setting CO2 limits for heavy-duty vehicles.CUSTOMER BENEFITS12VECTO gives customers transparent and reliablefuel consumption information.VECTO allows customers to compare the CO2and fuel efficiency performance of vehicles fromdifferent manufacturers.This means that transport operators can choosethe most fuel-efficient vehicle more easily, helping themto lower the cost of running a fleet.3The customer receives certified CO2 values for eachtruck purchased.SOCIETAL BENEFITSWhen it comes to society at large:12VECTO stimulates innovation and competition amongmanufacturers to develop the most fuel-efficient vehicles.After all, end-users will be able to compare the offerings ofdifferent manufacturers by using VECTO results.VECTO provides a credible, standardised way of comparingfuel efficiency. It will also give a clear picture of progress inreducing CO2 emissions from trucks.Hence, VECTO ensures that the most fuel-efficient vehiclecombinations are brought onto the market, thereby significantlyreducing CO2 emissions from trucks.

4. HOW CAN MORE SIGNIFICANT CO2 REDUCTIONSBE MADE IN THE FUTURE?In 2008, the commercial vehicle industry made acommitment to reduce fuel consumption from newvehicles by 20% by 2020, compared to 2005. A recentstudy by Transport & Mobility Leuven (TML)1, confirmedthat the industry is on track with reaching this target.However, the technology of new vehicles is just part ofa bigger picture. Firstly, because new vehicles representsuch a small fraction of the fleet, it is important to lookat the entire vehicle fleet rather than just new vehicles.Secondly, there are many more factors than just thevehicle alone that determine CO2 emissions – suchas permitted vehicle length and weight, trailer designs,alternative fuels, driver behaviour, transport operations,infrastructure, or a better utilisation of the vehicle (forexample load optimisation), to name a few. A trulyintegrated approach would draw on this full spectrum ofsolutions to reduce CO2 emissions more effectively.The TML study quantifies for the first time the reductionpotential of this integrated approach, and estimates thepotential gains to be more than double the CO2 reductionrate from a ‘vehicle only’ approach. The overall results of thestudy were validated by a consortium of 15 stakeholderswho, together with truck manufacturers represent thedifferent components of the integrated approach.A truly integratedapproach would draw on the fullspectrum of solutions to reduceCO2 emissions more effectivelyPILOT PROJECTSThe integrated approach is not just a theoretical concept, truck manufacturers have demonstrated thepotential of these measures in real-life conditions.Transport Lab-50%For five years, Transport Lab ran a fleetof some 25 vehicles from Sweden toHolland, implementing all measures thatcan help to reduce emissions – from vehicles andlogistics, to driver training and alternative fuels.This test fleet achieved fuel consumptionreductions of a full 50% between 2008 and 2013.AerodynamicsTelematicsLogistics planningMaintenanceDriver trainingBiofuelsEfficiency RunBy looking at all parts of a vehicle and trailer rather thanfocusing on a single component, the Efficiency Runtests found that each truck consumed around 12% to14% less fuel than standard vehicles in each fleet.Tyres1PredictivePowertrain ControlAerodynamicsThe tests also investigated the potential oflong combination vehicles, and found that fuelconsumption was reduced by around 17% comparedwith standard semi-trailer combinations.-12%to 14%-17%Long combination vehiclesGreenhouse gas reduction measures for the road freight transport sector, Transport & Mobility Leuven, July 2015