Refining the Vision for a 2035 Heavy-Duty Engines Portfolio

There is need for development and change in the vehicle powertrain technologies of the road transport freight industry, in order to mitigate the effects of climate change. This need is reflected in the regulated emissions levels for such new vehicles within Europe up until 2030 and the recent, aspirational targets for net zero emissions in many aspects of societal activity by 2050. Achieving such targets is a significant challenge, which will need changes in the energy carriers (vectors), powertrains, vehicles, operational and infrastructure aspects of road freight transport should it be achieved. Furthermore, the potential routes to such change and their rate indicate that the available powertrain portfolio in 2035 will be pivotal to success or not in meeting this challenge. Following from earlier considerations, in this paper the current understanding of these routes will be reviewed, the necessary, immediate next steps highlighted.