The Australian Government has today unveiled the Transport and Infrastructure Net Zero Roadmap and Action Plan – one of six sector plans supporting its target of reducing national emissions by 62-70 per cent by 2035 and to net zero by 2050.
These plans cover: electricity and energy; industry; resources; the built environment; agriculture and land; and transport.
The Transport and Infrastructure Net Zero Roadmap and Action Plan cover all transport modes and consider cross-cutting issues including low carbon fuels, freight and supply chains, system-wide efficiencies and transport infrastructure.
It notes that while the transport sector is critical to the national economy, it is also the third-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia, with direct emissions amounting to 22 per cent of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. With Australia’s population and economy expected to grow, transport activity is also expected to continue to increase to 2050.
The challenge is to reduce emissions while the sector grows, it states.
In particular, the Roadmap and Action Plan notes the decarbonisation pathway for heavy vehicles is likely to require a range of different technologies, including electrification for buses and rigid trucks, and a mixture of low carbon liquid fuels (LCLFs) for larger vehicles that carry heavier payloads over longer distances.
It outlines five key priority actions across Australia’s transport systems, modes and enabling inputs, namely:
- Invest in enabling low- and zero-emissions transport infrastructure
- Electrify and increase transport’s energy performance
- Switch to LCLFs to power transport where electrification is not feasible
- Innovate to expand cost-competitive transport technology options
- Scale up efforts to reduce embodied emissions in transport infrastructure
For heavy vehicles it acknowledges a combination of low-emission technologies and fuels will be required to decarbonise the sector, depending on payloads and distances.
The Roadmap and Action Plan outline the net-zero pathway for heavy vehicles as follows:
2025-2030
- Electrification of buses, rigid trucks, rubbish and fire trucks
- Continuing roll out of charging infrastructure for BEVs
- Initial use of LCLFs where electrification is not feasible, such as heavy-duty articulated trucks, supported by certification
- Research and development into articulated truck emissions reduction technology
- Increased uptake of higher-productivity freight vehicles
2030-2035
- Scale up charging infrastructure
- BEVs and HFCVs will continue to increase in efficiency and decrease in cost
- LCLFs and hydrogen, with certification and accounting frameworks in place to verify emissions reductions, complement electrification of some heavy vehicles
2035-2050
- National charging and refuelling networks
- Widespread use of battery and other zero-emission technologies, such as hydrogen
- LCLFs where BEVs and hydrogen are still advancing/not feasible
Specifically, the Roadmap and Action Plan identify improvements in vehicle productivity and fuel efficiency as key contributors to transport decarbonisation in the short- to medium-term.
“In the short-term, increasing the uptake of more efficient, modern and higher productivity freight vehicles will also contribute to emissions reduction,” it states.
It points to recent changes to vehicle mass and width limits as reforms paving the way for larger battery electric models as well as increasing the supply of zero-emission trucks available in Australia – adding that it “intends to also progress heavy vehicle reforms, including for heavy zero-emissions vehicles, in partnership with the states and territories, and local governments”.
“These reforms will be aimed at increasing transport productivity for all heavy vehicles and support the uptake of HZEVs,” it states.
While electrification is already feasible for smaller, short-haul trucks, the Roadmap and Action Plan concede the need to roll out of charging infrastructure and establish consistent national regulatory requirements to support electrification for heavy vehicles, with early opportunities for fixed routes and in metropolitan areas.
“Battery and hydrogen technology innovation for articulated trucks can be progressed in near-term through addressing regulatory barriers and clarifying investment priorities,” it notes.
“In the long-term, the widespread adoption of battery electric technologies will need to be supported by a national charging network.”
In the short- and medium-term the Roadmap and Action Plan single out LCLFs, especially renewable diesel, as critical to reducing emissions in conventional articulated trucks engines where electrification is not feasible.
To this end, it points to this week’s announcement of plans to invest $1.1 billion in a new Cleaner Fuels Program aimed at stimulating private investment in domestic low carbon liquid fuel refineries.
The new measures build on existing initiatives, including the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Funding Initiative and the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund – as well as the Government’s work to expand the Guarantee of Origin scheme to cover low-carbon liquid fuels and to establish a renewable diesel fuel quality standard.
The Transport and Infrastructure Net Zero Roadmap and Action Plan is available for download here.
The economy-wide Net Zero Plan and other Sector Plans are available for download here.
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