Yesterday, the European Parliament endorsed the provisional agreement on the new Regulation on CO2 Emission Standards for Heavy-Duty vehicles. The new law expands the scope of the existing regulation to cover almost all new heavy-duty vehicles and will push the transport sector to decarbonise by setting the following CO2 emission reduction targets:

• -45% by 2030
• -65% by 2035
• -90% by 2040

New rules will require truck makers to meet increasing average emissions reduction thresholds by selling more zero-emission trucks and buses running either on batteries, fuel cells, or hydrogen combustion engines.

“The Parliament vote is an important signal for hydrogen technologies in the mobility sector. It provides OEMs, end users, and developers of refuelling infrastructure with regulatory certainty, which is essential for the energy transition. New rules will dramatically increase the number of zero emission heavy-duty vehicles on the market, enabling economies of scale leading to falling vehicle prices and the expansion of hydrogen refuelling stations,” said Daniel Fraile, Chief Policy and Market Officer at Hydrogen Europe.

“As emissions from transport are still on the rise, every new hydrogen fuelled vehicle on the road will contribute to reversing that trend, which is why we are pleased to see hydrogen combustion engines being recognised as a solution,” he continued.

We now urge Member States to endorse the text and remind lawmakers that the first deadlines for the deployment of hydrogen refuelling stations set in the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) are fast approaching. It is crucial that vehicle uptake and deployment of refuelling stations are both addressed simultaneously to avoid any misalignment that would strand assets and – ultimately – slow the transition towards zero emission transport.

More information:

European Parliament press release: MEPs adopt stricter CO2 emissions targets for trucks and buses

Joint letter on the CO2 Emission Standards for Heavy-Duty vehicles plenary vote

Hydrogen Europe’s position paper on CO2 Emission Standards for Heavy-Duty vehicles