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That he destination of vehicles with diesel engines it had been known for some time. The high levels of pollutants produced during fuel combustion have, in fact, led several local – and national – administrations to ban them. Cities like Paris, Rome, Milan, London, and Berlin (just to name a few) have long imposed gods. blocks for cars with diesel engines, preventing its circulation in the urban center.
According to an indiscretion of the financial newspaper “Financial Times”, the end of diesel may come sooner than expected. At least when it comes to heavy commercial vehicles. The British newspaper, in fact, claims that seven of the world’s largest truck manufacturers have signed an agreement to stop production of diesel-powered heavy commercial vehicles by 2040, and not 2050 as originally planned. An early 10-year shutdown, therefore, considered by several analysts quite ambitious.
The agreement, we read in the pages of the “Financial Times”, was signed by Daimler, Scania, Man, Volvo, Daf, Iveco and Ford and announced publicly by Henrik Henrikson, Scania CEO and board member of the European Association of Commercial Vehicle Manufacturers. A very authoritative voice, therefore, that also outlined what the next movements of the “seven sisters” will be. In fact, the agreement also includes a operational plan on how to make the diesel redundancy possible in less than two decades.
First, truck manufacturers will use the collaboration of the “Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research” to identify the best alternatives to diesel engines and start field tests. The seven signatory companies are willing to invest between 50 and 100 billion euros to accelerate the development of these alternative technologies and thus be successful in their attempt to reduce the polluting emissions produced by commercial vehicles. “Only by working together – said Henrikson – can we achieve the goal we have set ourselves.”
According to the Financial Times, engineers and technicians at work should focus on three different technologies: electric motors, hydrogen engines and fuels with low environmental impact (like biodiesel, for example). The latter should allow, in the very short term, to substantially reduce polluting gas emissions from heavy commercial vehicles, thus allowing time to adequately develop the other two technologies.
Electric traction systems should be used in “proximity” transportation, such as deliveries to customers. However, for long distances, fuel cell engines are the best alternative to diesel. A solution already adopted by Hyundai and Mercedes, which in recent months have presented hydrogen trucks ready to be put on the market. However, for both electricity and hydrogen, underlines the CEO of Scania, investments are needed to restructuring of the distribution and charging network, to allow carriers sufficient “freedom of movement”.
