The Journey to Net-Zero

Chris Cleveland, Head of Sustainability at Freightliner describes the improvements that the freight operator is making to reduce its carbon emissions

The world we live in is one of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity and when coupled with climate change it exacerbates the need for action. For businesses faced with growing pressure from all stakeholders to reduce the carbon emissions associated with their activities, rail freight is part of the modal shift solution offering a 75 per cent reduction of emissions against road.

At Freightliner there is no time to stand back and wait for a single solution; decarbonisation relies on the development and trial of multiple emissions-cutting technologies and techniques in line with the latest climate science.

Some of these innovations deliver immediate gains, such as reducing locomotive engine idling time and substituting diesel fuel with low-emissions alternatives. Some may only pay off in the coming years, such as hydrogen power. Others such as Freightliner’s unique emissions calculation tool, provide valuable data and insight to make decisions, support our customers and inform discussions with government on electrification and decarbonisation of the rail network.

This multi-pronged approach, experimenting with fleet-based solutions, pooling knowledge with the rest of the rail freight industry and lending engineering and sectoral expertise to regulators through membership of steering and engagement groups, is vital at Freightliner to provide a vision, understanding, clarity and agility to drive incremental improvement while building the foundations of a carbon-free freight service.

To achieve net zero, Freightliner has a dedicated sustainability team working in a collaboration with the business to facilitate and support a variety of programmes designed to reduce carbon emissions. The movement for change started in our engineering team with trials, tests and innovation which has provided a strong foundation and the start of a robust foundation for Freightliner to build on.

The legacy of this work has enabled an innovative culture to blossom, where experimentation and curiosity are encouraging learning in an agile way, creating a collaborative approach. A growth mindset and learn fast approach to reducing carbon emissions is a corner stone within Freightliner. We celebrate when projects are successful and when not, they are seen as opportunities for learning, capturing the outcomes and celebrating the contributions made using the principles of – Evaluate, Learn, Adapt.

The evaluation and learning support future decision and enables future review as further innovation, advancements in technology and ideas grow.

Science Based Target initiative (SBTi)

The starting point for Freightliner’s approach is commitment to climate science. Freightliner’s parent company Genesee & Wyoming Inc (G&W) has submitted a commitment to the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) with a goal of reducing G&W’s greenhouse gas emissions against climate science. The first steps in Freightliner’s commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions and supports the ‘pathway’ for Freightliner to reduce carbon emissions, in line with the Paris Agreement, to net zero.

How is Freightliner seeking to achieve Net Zero?

Freightliner have been exploring projects which include alternatives fuels, data & analytics, and technology and behaviours. These programmes will deliver the reductions in carbon emissions in the short term to enable collaboration and engagement for the longer-term decisions on alternative powered traction, such as bi-mode, tri-mode, hydrogen, underpinned with continued promotion on infill electrification to support investments in new electric traction.

Alternative Fuels

With 75 per cent of Freightliner’s direct carbon emissions coming from diesel traction, there has been a focus on seeking alternative fuels that can provide the same performance as diesel but with significant reductions in carbon emissions and air quality benefits.

In 2021 Freightliner carried out trials to verify alternatives fuels that could be used in unmodified locomotives without loss of power. From running a series of test trains, including the heaviest freight train on the network with no reduction in horsepower, confirmed air quality benefits and significant reductions in carbon emissions.

Freightliner now offers GD+, an advanced hydrotreated vegetable oil fuel made from renewable feedstocks. Carbon emissions are roughly 92 per cent lower than diesel on average, with air quality benefits including a 14 per cent reduction in nitrogen oxides and 18 per cent lower ultra-fine particulates. GD+ is a drop-in fuel that can be used without any alteration to a locomotive engine and supports as a transitional fuel on the path to a net zero economy.

Electric Traction

Switching to electric traction boosts environmental benefits even further cutting carbon emissions up to 95 per cent compared with road haulage and reducing air pollution. Freightliner endorses the Department for Transport’s Decarbonisation Plan, which prioritises infill electrification of short stretches, sometimes only a few miles, to open whole routes to end-to-end electric traction.

With its fleet of 23 electric locomotives, Freightliner is the UK’s biggest provider of electric freight traction and with the lowercost gap-filling electrification projects, it would unlock substantial carbon savings and air quality benefits, taking the early steps towards full decarbonisation of the network and increasing the economic, social, and environmental benefits of UK rail freight.

Reporting Tools

With businesses under increasing pressure to report on the supply-chain elements of their carbon footprints – known as Scope 3 emissions – Freightliner has developed a tool to allow its customers to monitor and report their rail freight-related emissions. Scope 3 emissions data are increasingly demanded by regulators, investors, and customers as part of an organisation’s carbon reporting but since the emissions are not generated directly by the business it is often hard to obtain accurate data.

In addition to Scope 3 emission data tools, Freightliner has also built on software, developed by Hull University, which maps the whole UK rail network to optimise freight planning and includes detailed data on variables such as gradients and permitted weights for each route.

With the aid of first of a kind innovation funding from the UK government, Freightliner has overlaid conversion factor data for carbon emissions and air-quality impact for different locomotive classes and train sizes. The result is the Rail Energy and Emissions Calculator (REEC) Tool generating accurate carbon emissions data for any train configuration on any rail route in the UK. The benefits from the REEC tool are:

• Freightliner’s customers can calculate their Scope 3 emissions in line with the regulatory requirements of the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) framework.

• Freightliner’s customers can model the carbon savings of a modal shift from road to rail or switching from diesel traction on existing routes to a low-emissions alternative fuel.

• Freightliner can optimise the efficiency and carbon footprint of its operations by calculating where running longer trains, for example, is more energy and carbon efficient.

The tool can also be used to analyse the carbon reduction impact of different network electrification options, supporting the Department for Transport’s Decarbonisation Plan, for infill electrification of shorter stretches to open whole routes to end-to-end electric traction, unlocking substantial carbon savings and air quality benefits.

Idling reduction

Locomotives are commonly left with their engines idling when not in use for hours, sometimes even for days at a time. It was calculated in 2020 at Freightliner locomotives spent an average of eight hours 45 minutes a day sat idling generating emissions with no benefit to the company or its customers. Simple technology changes, such as start/stop technology, speed limiters, focusing on behavioural changes and raising awareness has reduced fuel wastage in Freightliner’s fleet from idling by three hours and 15 minutes to an average of five hours 30 minutes a day, cutting carbon emissions by 3,264 tonnes of carbon emissions, saving 1.2 million litres of fuel, and offering a low-cost step towards decarbonising. Work continues to cut idling time by 50 per cent by 2025.

Fuel/Water Emulsion

Alongside projects to provide low-emission fuel alternatives to diesel-powered traction, Freightliner is exploring the potential to further cut carbon emissions and air pollutants. It is currently possible to replace up to twelve per cent of the fuel with water, blended using a surfactant to create an emulsion, without significant loss of engine power. The emulsion is injected into standard engines and produces lower carbon emissions and reduces nitric and nitrogen oxides and particulate matter emitted to the air. The project is further exploring technology that could allow a greater proportion of water to fuel to be added to give a greater emulsification without loss of power, which is hoped will see further reductions carbon emissions and air quality benefits.

From the projects being undertaking, we are seeing reductions in our carbon emissions and have a programme to reduce our carbon emissions significantly into the next decade. However, at Freightliner we cannot rest on our laurels, as we move another year closer to 2050, our plans need to be continuing with same vigour as we have for the previous years to ensure the momentum into 2030 on onwards.

Freightliner are exploring what the future locomotive could look like and collaborating with external companies on fuels for the future, could this be hydrogen, steam, or another. The opportunities are starting to emerge, and we are putting ourselves at the forefront of this. Carbon neutral terminals are a real possibility with renewable energy, alternative fuels and interdependencies between biodiversity and carbon emissions to progress further to net zero.

However, for Freightliner to continue our pathway to net zero, there are several key areas of support needed. The government’s ongoing commitment to support innovation, research, and development through first of a kind funding and other programmes is crucial for achieving net zero. It has enabled and unlocked opportunities for doing things differently, reporting tools and advancements in lower carbon technologies. A commitment to a network of infill electrification is crucial both in terms of using electric traction and for informing the future of low-carbon locomotive traction, coupled with incentives for decarbonisation, such as reducing the cost-premium associated with running lower-carbon trains, incentivising use of low-carbon alternative fuels and supporting pricing for electric traction.

There may not be the magic bullet or one solution that solves the impact of climate change, but at Freightliner our approach of incremental improvements is setting us on a direction to reduce our carbon emissions to achieve net zero.

Chris Cleveland is Head of Sustainability at Freightliner, a leading provider of rail freight solutions of intermodal and bulk freight haulage, operating services across the entire UK. Chris’s role has responsibility for environmental management, direction for achieving net zero, embedding biodiversity principles and the positive impact of social value.