The pace of technological change in our industry is accelerating globally

The pace of technological change in our industry globally is accelerating faster than we sometimes understand when only focusing on the UK perspective. Whilst we struggle with minimum charging infrastructure for HGVs and await some joined up strategies and policies to accelerate decarbonisation at the scale required to meet government targets, the reality in USA and China is somewhat different. The New York Times reports that technology company Aurora, has quietly notched a major milestone in the race to commercialise autonomous vehicles, launching a fully driverless trucking service that has already logged more than 1200 miles on public highways in Texas.

The companies 18 wheelers have been shuttling frozen pastries without a human in the cab along a stretch of Interstate 45 between Dallas and Houston, marking a turning point for both the road freight industry and the future of automated transport. Aurora’s launch on April 27th followed four years of on road testing with safety drivers and the completion of a rigorous “safety case”; an evidence-based analysis used to justify the systems readiness for public deployment. Driverless truck operations will be expanded to Phoenix and El Paso later this year says Aurora. The trucks use Level 4 automation, which allows vehicles to operate mainly in self-driving mode, the trucks do not require human interaction in most cases, although a human still has the option to manually override the system. The trucks themselves are credited with “superhuman” driving abilities due to a plethora of sensors and cameras, which can detect pedestrians at the side of the highway up to 450 metres away and is 11 seconds faster to react at night than human drivers. Industry observers predict that autonomous trucks will eventually handle the longer and less desirable routes.

Meanwhile in China, CEVA Logistics reached a significant milestone in its commitment to sustainable transport with the successful completion of a 5,000-kilometer electric vehicle (EV) trial across China. The trial involved a long-haul journey from Shenzhen in southern China to Alashankou in northwestern China. Using an electric truck, CEVA managed to significantly reduce its carbon emissions, resulting in a 54% reduction in CO₂ emissions and a 43% reduction in energy cost compared to diesel, showcasing the substantial environmental benefits of this initiative. During the 5,000-kilometer journey, CEVA utilized an EV that was capable of traveling 680 kilometres on a single charge, with an average energy consumption of just 1.11 kilowatt-hour per kilometre. The electric truck only required nine charging stops, with each stop taking an average of three hours.

This efficiency was made possible due to a well-planned charging schedule, mapping the charging stations along the highway, located every 200 to 300 kilometres.