New Energy World™
New Energy World™ embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low-carbon technologies.
The long and winding road towards HVO take-up for trucks
14/1/2026
8 min read
Feature
The path which the road freight industry will take to net zero carbon emissions is still far from clear. Although battery-electric trucks lead the way in the UK ahead of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, they still only constituted 0.5% (217 units) of new truck registrations in 2024. Richard Simpson examines the convoluted route towards hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) adoption for diesel replacement, and the threat of fake sources.
British truck manufacturing market leader DAF claims it can offer battery-electric trucks which, over a five-year period, will cost no more than their diesel counterparts, as the higher front-end price will be recouped by lower energy and maintenance costs. However, this can still only be achieved by maximum leverage of government tax concessions and subsidies.
The operational performance of battery-electric trucks is still poor compared to diesel, with limited opportunities for on-road charging at uncertain cost. Significantly, most battery-electric trucks in use in the UK are dedicated to short-haul and urban distribution roles where they can be charged at a home depot between shifts.
Even then, the length of time needed to charge trucks at most locations is considered to be too long to get sufficient use of the truck to recoup its higher front-end price from reduced energy costs.