The project journey

The road freight sector is an important pillar of the European economy as 75% of goods are transported on the road, but also a significant source of CO2 emissions. In 2020 it emitted 77% of all EU transport GHGs. Thereof about 5.6% are produced by HDV and busses.

A study conducted by the ACEA found that in 2020, about 6.2 million medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles were on the EU’s roads. Approximately 96.3% of these trucks ran on Diesel, 0.7% on Petrol and only 0.24% were zero-emission. European truck makers estimate that around 200,000 ZE HDV will have to be in operation by 2030 to meet the CO2 targets for HDVs.

The innovation activities of EMPOWER project will deal with the development of two zero-emission HDVs. One is a FCEV capable of 750 km unrefuelled range under long-haul operating conditions, the second one a BEV capable of 400 km unrecharged range under a regional distribution operational profile. Both vehicles will operate at maximum GVW of minimum 40 tons. This work and the results hereof are in line with the European Green Deal objectives, the targets set in the Paris Agreement, and the EU 2030 Climate & Energy Framework and the European Roadmap on the “Electrification of Road Transport”.

Both EMPOWER vehicles will be demonstrated over a period of at least 6 months under real-world conditions.