EROAD To Develop Heavy Vehicle Decarbonisation Tool

EROAD, with its purpose of safer and more sustainable roads, announces that it has been awarded partial funding from the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority (EECA) Low Emission Transport Fund to develop a Heavy Vehicle Decarbonisation and Recommendation tool.

Transport accounts for 21% of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions1, and it remains one of the most challenging sectors to decarbonise. EECA’s Low Emission Transport Fund supports the demonstration and adoption of low emission transport technology, innovation and infrastructure to accelerate the decarbonisation of New Zealand’s transport sector.

EECA will fund up to 46% of the research and development costs for the proposed Heavy Vehicle Decarbonisation and Recommendation tool. EROAD’s proposal was selected by the EECA from thousands of project applications.

Steven Newman, Chief Executive Officer at EROAD says, "As part of our net zero strategy, EROAD is focused on how we can drive real change in carbon reduction and help customers to kick start their carbon zero journey. The Heavy Vehicle Decarbonisation and Recommendation tool plays a vital role in achieving those goals."

An EROAD 2021 sustainability study showed that 42% of fleet operators don’t currently report on sustainability goals; 26% currently feel no pressure to increase sustainability efforts; and 42% are challenged by the associated costs, lack of tangible value and prioritisation. The Heavy Vehicle Decarbonisation and Recommendation tool will help fleet operators understand why they need to address sustainability goals and what actionable steps they could take to save fuel cost and reduce emissions.

"While the electrification of New Zealand’s vehicle fleet is increasing rapidly, low or zero emission vehicle options are still limited for heavy fleets. The tool we’re creating will support transport operators to assess all viable options for reducing their heavy vehicle emissions," adds Newman.

EROAD has an extensive real-world telematics and driving behaviour dataset that covers over 50% of the diesel vehicles on NZ roads, 36,000+ heavy vehicles traveling 44 million km per week. The Heavy Vehicle Decarbonisation and Recommendation tool will leverage this reliable and effective dataset to generate actionable insights.

The in-depth report will be available to EROAD customers for free for the first year, with a lightweight web version to be made available for use by the wider industry.

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