With the advent of the electric car, a debate often arises: what pollutes the most between an electric car and a thermal car? Several studies have provided answers, particularly considering the entire production process, but in any case, all this remains globally quite opaque to the consumerand even for the legislator as a whole.

The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) has just released a new study on electric trucks. According to the published report, electric trucks pollute much less than diesels over the entire life cycle, and much less than natural gas trucks.

Electric trucks, the future of road transport?

The study takes into account the entire production process and, according to the figures provided, the 2021 40-ton electric truck thus emits 63% less greenhouse gases than a diesel truck over 1.3 million kilometers of travel, therefore integrating its manufacturing, and electricity produced in accordance with the European energy balance. And this is without taking into account the production of renewable electricity. If so, emissions could be reduced by 84%.

On the other hand, for fuel cell trucks, this conclusion is somewhat more nuanced. They cut emissions by 85%, but only if their hydrogen is produced from renewable energy. Something that is now almost impossible to find.

” The problem is not in the design of the vehicle, but in its operation on the road“, said one of the authors of the study, Nikita Pavlenko, who is responsible for fuel at ICCT. ” Our research responds to the uncertainty about gases emitted at each stage of a vehicle’s life. This shows that only electric trucks and some fuel cell trucks can enable the transport sector to meet climate targets– continues Nikita Pavlenko.

Natural gas, a false good idea?

Another interesting fact that should shake up many received ideas, especially for transport professionals, natural gas, put forward in particular to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, only allows a reduction ” marginal“, from 4 to 18% less than dieselaccording to the study.

The report goes further to indicate that when the short-term warming effects of natural gas are taken into account due to methane leaks during gas production, this energy pollutes even more than diesel fuel.

The energy transition in road transport is still a rather complex topic in the sense that, apart from being the leading producer of greenhouse gases (30%) in the European Union, heavy vehicles, between buses and trucks, represent approximately 26% of these emissions And diesel still seems to have a bright future ahead of it 99% of trucks sold in Europe in 2021 were still diesel powered.