- industry and government forum to support the freight sector
across all modes in the transition to net zero by 2050
- the forum will create a plan to roll out future energy
infrastructure for the industry
- solutions will be explored to help the freight sector start
reducing emissions immediately
Measures to help boost the freight sector are moving forward
today, as a new government-industry forum is launched to help the
sector decarbonise and ensure its long-term sustainability.
Established as part of the Future of Freight
plan, the Freight Energy
Forum is meeting today to bring government and industry
together to support the sector across all modes – including rail,
road, air, maritime and warehousing – reach net zero by 2050.
The forum will discuss potential solutions that the sector could
take to start reducing emissions now and, for the longer term,
will look to create a plan or roadmap to roll out future clean
energy infrastructure for the industry.
The forum will bring together expertise and senior
representatives from across 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.
The forum will be chaired by the Department for Transport
officials and will also include senior representatives from
across government, including the Department for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities and the Department for Energy Security
and Net Zero.
Topics will include:
- assessing the supply and demand of the energy the freight
sector will need
- examining the types of energy infrastructure that will be
required to provide refuelling or recharging
- identifying where energy and infrastructure will be needed
across the regions and locations, such as motorway service areas,
warehouses, rail freight terminals, airports, ports and beyond
The forum will be technology-neutral, meaning that it will look
at a range of potential solutions for the freight sector and not
prioritise one type of technology.
Transport Minister 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 forum could help to create high-skilled, highly-paid jobs
across the UK by giving the industry greater certainty to invest
in sustainable modes of freight transport and the supporting
energy infrastructure needed to transition to net zero, in turn
supporting the growth of the economy.
The government’s Future of Freight plan was published in June
2022 and sets out how we can deliver a cost-efficient, reliable,
resilient and environmentally sustainable freight sector. One of
the 5 priority areas it identified to achieve this goal was to
establish this forum to help enable the transition to net zero.
Working as a partnership between industry and government, the
forum will focus on the energy infrastructure requirements needed
for the freight sector to transition to cleaner ways of working.
Meeting quarterly, the forum will look to produce several items
from its meetings including:
- a roadmap plan outlining the roll out 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.
Road Haulage Association (RHA) 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 out how this is achieved so that all parts of the UK
economy can be serviced by our members.
