Scaling-up Electric Road Freight Transport
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The 12th International Workshop on Sustainable Road Freight was held on 9th & 10th December in Cambridge, UK.
View the full workshop agenda and abstracts here
Scaling-up the electrification of road freight transport presents several key challenges. One major issue is the need for robust charging infrastructure, especially in regions with limited access to high-capacity charging stations. Battery technology is a critical concern. While progress is being made, current batteries still have limitations in terms of range and weight, which affect the ability of electric trucks to perform long-haul routes. The long charging times compared to refuelling conventional diesel trucks remain a significant barrier for fleet operators, who require quick turnaround times for their vehicles. Moreover, the environmental impact and sustainability of battery production, particularly around sourcing raw materials, presents additional challenge, especially in today’s unstable socio-economic and political climate.
The high upfront cost of electric trucks can make them prohibitively expensive for many businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises. Although the total cost of ownership can be lower over time, the initial investment often deters adoption.
Finally, the regulatory landscape is fragmented across different countries and regions, creating a complex patchwork of rules, incentives, and standards. Coordinating policy efforts globally to support the transition to electric HGVs is crucial but challenging, as each market has unique infrastructure, economic, and regulatory contexts.
This year’s workshop will discuss efforts required from governments, freight users and operators, as well as other stakeholders to create sustainable and scalable solutions for electrifying road freight transport networks globally.
The 2026 workshop focussed on accelerating the transition to electric road freight transport systems.
• Global, national and organisational perspectives on the transition to electric road freight and net zero logistics
• Ways to accelerate the transition to electric freight systems
• Organisational change and readiness for electric road freight
• The progress case studies on decarbonisation and/or electrification of logistics and road freight transport
• Knowledge management and organisational learning related to decarbonisation of logistics
• Resilient and flexible technologies to facilitate the transition to net zero logistics
• Impact of electrification of road freight transport on intermodal supply chains
• Electrification / decarbonisation of other freight transport modes
• Local socio-economic, regulatory and political factors shaping the speed and magnitude of the transition process
Keynote Speakers
- Lewis Fulton, Director of the Energy Futures Program within the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis;
- Phil Greening, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Road Freight and the Centre for Logistics and Sustainability at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh;
- Cathrin Iden, Network Sales Manager Nordics, Milence
- Jakob Rogstadius, Senior Researcher within Sustainable Transport and Systems Unit at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
Dinner Address
Alan McKinnon, Professor of Logistics, Kühne Logistics University, Hamburg.
International Scientific Committee
David Cebon Cambridge University – United Kingdom
Alan McKinnon Kühne Logistics University – Germany
Lóri Tavasszy TU Delft- Netherlands
Chris de Saxe GoMetro UK – United Kingdom
Xiaoxiang Na Cambridge University – United Kingdom
Joubert Van Eeden Stellenbosch University – South Africa
Phil Greening Heriot-Watt University – United Kingdom
Anna Pernestål KTH Royal Institute of Technology- Sweden
Julio Villalobos Universidad Andrés Bello – Chile
Simon Hu Zhejiang University – China
Maja Piecyk University of Westminster – United Kingdom
Gordon Wilmsmeier Universidad de Los Andes – Colombia
Maria Huge-Brodin Linköping University- Sweden
Shankar Subramanian Indian Institute of Technology Madras – India
Contact
If you have any questions or would like further information, please email Virginia Bath at vl270@cam.ac.uk.
