Preparing for trucks of the future
Whether they are powered by electricity, hydrogen, gas or something else entirely, transport fleets are going to undergo a transformation over the coming years Words: Steve Banner
Haulage
and distribution centres will change enormously over the next 10 to 15 years as diesel trucks are gradually displaced by electric models. Trucks powered by hydrogen fuel cells may have a role to play too. One unavoidable consequence for existing centres will be disruption as bulk fuel tanks are torn out and battery charging points – and the electricity cables needed to feed them – are installed. Such upheaval need not plague sites being constructed now, however, if some of the basic infrastructure that will be needed is built in prior to the power shift that is undoubtedly coming. Think of the needs of the people who work there, including warehouse order pickers and forklift truck drivers, advises Simon Cox, Head of Sustainability at Prologis UK. It constructs major distribution centres which are then occupied by some of the country’s best-known businesses, including Tesco and Sainsbury’s. “In future, more and more employees are likely to come to work in electric cars,” he points out. What responsible employers should therefore consider doing is putting in below-the-ground channels that can accommodate cabling to support low-speed charge points that can easily be installed as and when required. Workers will be able to plug their vehicles into these points so that they can be trickle-charged while they work their shifts. Doing the ground work Put the underground channels and any related subterranean equipment in now and the site will not have to be dug up to install them when they are actually needed.
30 destination net zero | launch 22
