What is already possible with regards to Electrification of freight transport? A panel discussion between government and industry at the eMobility Forum in Budapest gave interesting insights.
Under the lead of Harm Weken (FIER, proEME partner), the following speakers were invited to the panel discussion about electrification of freight transport:
- Kinga Tóth City of Budapest (HU)
- László Csorba Magyar Posta (HU)
- David Thackray, Tevva (UK)
- Rob Kroon, FIER (NL)
From a city perspective, Kinga Tóth explained that air quality within the city is utmost important, and that electrification of freight vehicles can play a significant role in this. Cities should also be open for non-financial incentives, for example broadening time windows for silent and zero emission trucks. Mr László Csorba from the Hungarian post explained that his company is focussing on the electrification of the light weight vehicles, and gave the audience a couple of examples. From a truck manufacturers perspective, David Thackray from Tevva showed us the urgency. A quote from George S Patton; “A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week”, was used to show that, although the opportunities of electrification of transport is not yet perfect, we do can and need start today. In line with this quote, Rob Kroon (FIER, proEME partner) presented the current status of the eGLM project and other heavy duty projects which are already implementing heavy e-trucks on the roads of Europe.