Following the UK Government’s £200 million Zero Emissions Road Freight Demonstration (ZERFD) Programme announcement, Renault Trucks will supply its E-Tech T tractor units to two of the winning consortiums.
The eFREIGHT 2030 consortium, headed by Voltempo, will demonstrate up to 100 battery electric trucks. This will include a mixture of 40-44-tonne 4x2 and 6x2 tractor units. The consortium will also roll out a network of 32 megawatt capacity charging locations.
Project Electric Freightway, led by Gridserve will demonstrate 140 electric HGVs with a network of 220 megawatt chargers. This consortium is made up of 33 partners and member companies that will run electric vehicles and contribute to the programme.
Carlos Rodrigues, Managing Director, Renault Trucks UK & Ireland, said: “As a pioneer in electric mobility, Renault Trucks is pleased that the UK government is accelerating the decarbonisation of the commercial vehicle industry with essential funding through the ZERFD programme. We congratulate the successful consortiums, and are delighted to work with both eFREIGHT 2030 and Project Electric Freightway to fast-track the transition to zero emission HGVs in the UK. We are looking forward to supplying our E-Tech T tractor units to operators in both consortiums, many of whom have already had successful experience with our electric rigids in their fleets.”
Renault Trucks is one of the manufacturers supplying trucks to these two consortiums. The eFREIGHT 2030 programme will offer fleet operators and SMEs the opportunity to take part in the demonstration as associate members. This will also be supported by leasing company Vertellus that already has a fleet of electric Renault trucks. Vertellus’ EV discovery programme allows operators to explore EV ownership through short term subscriptions.
The ZERFD initiative will fund the demonstration of up to 370 zero emission trucks across four different consortiums. The programme will also deliver around 57 refuelling and charging stations across the UK.
