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CLECAT joined the European Clean Trucking Alliance (ECTA) roadshow, which took place at Autoworld in Brussels on 27 October. The event was organised by ECTA to showcase the future of electric trucking in Europe. ECTA membership (shippers and logistics service providers and their associations committed to zero-emission road freight transport), discussed with policymakers, truck manufacturers and charging infrastructure providers the challenges and opportunities of the decarbonisation of the road transport sector.

At the initiative of ECTA, key players of the trucking industry (hauliers, shippers, electric vehicle charging operators and a truck manufacturer) signed a joint declaration to signal their commitment to the transition to zero-emission trucking. The signatories call on policy makers from EU institutions and Member States to put in place the enabling policies to accelerate the market uptake of zero-emission vehicles and to remove barriers holding back the transition. This includes ambitious HDV CO2 standards, a fast and massive roll-out of recharging/refuelling infrastructure and an incentive framework to help hauliers switch to zero-emission vehicles.

OEMs demonstrated their zero-emission vehicles and offered the possibility for a test-drive around the Autoworld venue. All stakeholders emphasised the need to deploy an ambitious network of recharging stations to ensure zero-emission long-haul transport. With regards to charging standards, panellists called on the Commission to make sure fast chargers would be equipped with Megawatt Charging System (MCS) once the standard is in place. This would allow truck drivers to rapidly charge their lorries during their 45-minute legal break. It was also deemed necessary to put in place a European common database on information about charging stations (price, availability of chargers, booking systems etc).

Finally, a high-level debate took place with MEPs, the European Commission, an OEM and a logistics service provider at the European Parliament to discuss the challenges of the decarbonisation. The debate was streamed and can be watched here. National governments were called on to improve their electricity grid, streamlining permit-granting procedures for charging stations and overall, to make sure sufficient electricity made from renewable sources would be available for the new needs of the road freight transport.