COMMENT

From Where I’m Sitting – Howard Knott – howard@fleet.ie Is future transport electric powered? And is airfreight Shannon routed?

I was reading the other day that the producers of semi-conductors in Taiwan and in China are now facing market problems and having difficulties in shifting their ever-increasing production. This is all down to the fall-off in demand for laptops, smart phones and other devices that had peaked during the early months of COVID-19 lockdowns but has fallen as work patterns return to something more normal.

This should mean that the auto industry which, even before Electric Vehicles (EV) began to be produced at scale, was forced to slow production due to a shortage of microchips, can now forge ahead to produce vehicles in volume. But is there a market for the current specification of vehicles or will buyers hold off until they see better technology and lower prices? And, of course, will there be a highway infrastructure that works for large volumes of EVs, hydrogen powered vehicles and more?

Thinking about the EV infrastructure, I cannot help feeling deeply frustrated that the powers that be can talk endlessly about switching transport away from fossil fuels but appear to be very relaxed when it comes to ensuring that the necessary electric power is available to enable this to happen. Why, for example, is the roll-out of smart electric meters so slow? The delivery date for our such meter at home, promised for 2021, has now slipped back to 2024. In the meantime, might it nor be an idea to send all consumers a sheet setting out the peak and trough times for electricity usage allowing the customers help the suppliers? Why delay on encouraging householders and, more significantly warehouse and other industrial and office building users, to install as many solar panels as possible on their roofs by putting in place a proper system to enable them to sell excess power back into the grid or, indeed, to their neighbours? It also seems strange that the Irish Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, which is a body announced last March to enable the fast-tracking of approval of all aspects of installation of a comprehensive wind farm network off the Irish coastline, will not get into action for a year after that announcement. Indeed, the process of seeking a Chief Executive for that body has only just begun. While the Government Agencies involved may seek to keep things simple, perhaps, by not changing them, it is surely up to politicians at both Government and Local Authority level to kick things on.

Only if there is some certainty about the constant availability of electric power can operators of all forms of transport equipment make rational decisions about future investment that will help enable Ireland to meet its emission targets.

Perhaps a signal of just how urgent a major development of electric power availability might be was indicated by the news last week of the first flight of a battery powered light freight aircraft. The builders expect to deliver the first of 50 such aircraft ordered by DHL in about two years’ time. This aircraft will be able to fly for an hour, re-charge while the cargo is discharged and re-loaded, and half an hour after landing will be on its way again.

Fast moving airfreight systems also came to mind during a conversation with Dan Irvine at Shannon Airport when we spoke about the service now being operated through the airport by Cargolux. It flies a Boeing 747 in from Seattle, discharges some containers, re-loads and heads off to its Luxembourg hub. Once there, freighters are turned around in two hours or less before the plane heads out again to destinations spread across the globe. It’s a massively efficient system at Luxembourg and shows just how well a cargo focused airport can operate.

Could Shannon fulfil the role of Ireland’s airfreight hub? Would there be a net benefit for Irish cargo owners if all freight moved through Shannon? Would the residents of Portmarnock sleep better at night without all those freight aircraft overhead?

This must be a whole new, and serious discussion.