The fight against climate change is a complex issue that depends on cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but transportation is making that fight harder. Cars, trucks, planes, ships, and trains power our interconnected world, but they also account for roughly a quarter of all GHG emissions. This makes transportation one of the largest, and fastest-growing, contributors to global warming.
However, the problem is getting much worse. While energy and industry have made significant progress, cutting emissions by as much as 70% and 60% between 1990 and 2019, transportation is heading in the wrong direction. Emissions from this sector are climbing rapidly as global demand for travel and shipping continues to rise.
Aviation is a glaring example of how bad things have gotten. In 2023, planes alone accounted for 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions, growing faster than rail, road, or shipping over the past two decades. With international travel starting up again post-COVID-19, aviation emissions reached a staggering 950 million metric tons – back to more than 90% of pre-pandemic levels.
This trend is a massive setback for climate goals. If transportation emissions aren’t addressed, we risk undermining the progress made in other sectors. To prevent the worst impacts of climate change, we urgently need to decarbonise the transportation sector. In doing so, we can reduce harmful emissions, improve air quality, protect public health, and create a more sustainable and resilient future for generations to come.
Decarbonising Road Freight
Although a necessity for achieving a safer and sustainable future, decarbonisation is also a huge challenge in the transportation sector, especially for areas like road freight. Trucks and heavy-duty vehicles are essential for moving goods across countries and continents, but they’re also some of the toughest to transition to cleaner technologies. Unlike cars, which can rely on smaller batteries and shorter trips, road freight often involves long distances, heavy loads, and a need for consistent power, making the shift to electric or alternative energy vehicles more complicated.
Other solutions, like hydrogen fuel or systems that power vehicles directly through overhead wires or induction loops embedded in roads, are still being developed. These ideas show potential but come with big questions about how practical and affordable they will be, and whether we can build the infrastructure needed to support them.
The pressure to meet Net Zero policies and sustainability goals is forcing the transport sector to explore these options and weigh their feasibility. While these technologies hold promise, the road ahead is anything but easy. Decarbonising road freight requires not just innovation but also massive investment in infrastructure and collaboration across industries. It’s a critical piece of the puzzle, and one we must solve if we’re serious about achieving a sustainable future.
Driving Decarbonisation Forward
To tackle the challenges of decarbonising road freight and reducing transportation emissions, we need a strategic approach that combines technology, data, and planning. Advanced simulation tools can model and evaluate solutions – like battery-electric trucks, hydrogen fuel cells, and overhead power systems – helping us understand their feasibility, and real-world impact on emissions, operations and infrastructure. Simulation technology allows us to test these solutions under various conditions, exploring their performance across different routes, climates, and freight loads without the cost or risk of real-world trials.
Our collaboration with Connected Places Catapult to deliver advanced simulation tools for UK highways exemplifies this approach in action. Through this initiative, we’re addressing one of the biggest challenges in transport today.
The goal is to understand what works best and how these solutions can fit into the systems we already rely on, empowering companies and policymakers to invest more wisely in sustainable technologies. By focusing on practical, effective strategies, we can make the shift to greener freight smoother and faster. It also makes it easier to meet Net Zero commitments, ensuring the transportation sector meets climate targets, contributing to a healthier planet.
Innovating for a Greener, Sustainable Planet
Hadean is uniquely positioned to overcome the pressures of decarbonisation, using simulation tools to help industries make environmentally conscious choices, adopt sustainable practices, and improve operational efficiency. We showcase a commitment beyond technology, dedicated to creating a safer planet. With Hadean, a sustainable future isn’t just a goal, but a promise we can deliver.