EROAD to develop heavy vehicle decarbonisation 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.

For further information contact:
Tony Warwood
Executive General Manager, Australia & New Zealand
EROAD Limited
DDI: 09 927 4700
tony.warwood@eroad.com

About EROAD

EROAD modernises road charging and tax compliance and health and safety compliance for road transport by replacing paper-based systems with easy-to-use electronic systems that also improve fleet management. The company is headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, and listed on the New Zealand Exchange (NZX). Its US business is based in Portland, Oregon, serving customers with vehicles operating in every US mainland state, growing outward in concentration from the Northwest. In 2009 EROAD introduced the world’s first nationwide electronic road user charging (eRUC) system in New Zealand and, in 2017, more than 50% of heavy transport RUC was collected electronically, representing a rapid transition to e-commerce on a voluntary, industry-led basis, due to the cost-savings and benefits to customers. EROAD is also a leading provider of health and safety compliance services, including vehicle management and driver behaviour and performance measures.