February 2026 Newsletter
Dear HVTT Forum subscribers,
I would like to begin this newsletter by marking a very special milestone in the history of our community. In 2026, we celebrate 40 years since the first Heavy Vehicle Weights and Dimensions Symposium (HVWD1), held in Kelowna, Canada, in 1986, which laid the foundations for what would later become the HVTT Forum.
The Forum itself was formally established at the third HVWD symposium in Cambridge, UK, in 1992, as the “International Forum for Heavy Vehicle Weights and Dimensions”. It was later renamed the International Forum for Road Transport Technology (IFRTT), and then in 2019 adopted its current name — the International Forum for Heavy Vehicle Transport & Technology (HVTT Forum) — as part of a broader branding refresh and to better align with the ongoing symposia, which by 2006 had become known as the International Symposium on Heavy Vehicle Transport and Technology. And after that mouthful, here ends the HVTT history lesson.
Group photo from HVWD2, Kelowna, Canada, 1989
Since the Forum’s founding, the symposia have been its flagship activity and the primary means of achieving its central objective: facilitating information exchange between researchers, policymakers, regulators, road agencies, and the transport industry. Eighteen symposia have been held to date across eleven countries and six continents, and we look forward to further expanding its presence into Eastern Europe in 2027. More details below!
Map of HVTT Symposia locations, 1986-2024
My own first symposium was HVTT12 in Stockholm in 2012, when I was an anxious Master’s student presenting at my first international conference abroad. I was eager to meet many of the leading figures in heavy vehicle dynamics whose work I had read and cited during my research. It has since been a great privilege to get to know and collaborate with many of those individuals, along with the many others who have since passed through the doors of the Forum and its symposia. The HVTT community remains a unique network of professionals committed to making road freight safer, cleaner, and more sustainable.
HVTT Forum Information Officer, learning the ropes at HVTT12 (2012)
Turning now to the UK, there are a few updates on the uptake of electric heavy goods vehicles (eHGVs).
Earlier this year, the UK government announced an £18 million expansion of the initially car- and van-focussed “Plug-in Grant” to subsidise the purchase of new electric trucks until the end of March 2026. The subsidy is tiered according to the vehicle’s registered gross mass and varies by region. In Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), grants range from £20,000 for smaller trucks (4.25–12 tonnes) up to £120,000 for the heaviest vehicles (26 tonnes and above). The rates for Northern Ireland are lower.
There is no question that this incentive goes some way to reduce the affordability gap between diesel and electric trucks. However, the limited funding pot means the scheme can support only a few hundred of the largest vehicle types.
Meanwhile, consortia within the government-funded Zero Emission HGV Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) programme continue to introduce additional heavy-duty electric trucks into circulation and deploy new eHGV charging infrastructure across the UK. By March 2026, around 300 vehicles are expected to be operating as part of these demonstrator projects. Charging hubs opened in the last few months supported by the programme include:
- Two Gridserve eHGV charging hubs at Extra Baldock and Moto Exeter (Electric Freightway consortium)
- The MCS-ready Voltempo / Kuehne+Nagel hub at East Midlands Gateway (part of eFREIGHT 2030)
- Fleete’s 5-MW charging hub at the Port of Tilbury (also part of eFREIGHT 2030)
GridServe’s eHGV charging hub at Baldock (photo credit: GridServe)
Another major development within ZEHID came in December, when the UK government withdrew funding from the £40 million HyHaul project, the programme’s only dedicated hydrogen fuel-cell HGV demonstrator. According to project leaders, the consortium had been “unable to secure sufficient customer commitments for fuel cell heavy goods vehicles.”
Outside of ZEHID, a notable new initiative is DP World’s Electric Vehicle Transition & Introduction Accelerator (EVITA) trial, conducted in partnership with the JOLT Project led by the Centre for Sustainable Road Freight. Between January and June, JOLT will test four electric HGVs with operators participating in DP World’s SME-focused Low Carbon Truck Programme (LCTP). The trial aims to help container transport operators evaluate electrification within busy port logistics environments, with a focus on DP World’s Southampton and London Gateway ports.
(Thanks to David Cebon for this contribution.)
Interestingly, alongside the gradual uptake of zero-emission HGVs in the UK, overall HGV registrations fell by 10% in 2025, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Finally, a few important updates on upcoming HVTT events:
- HVTT19 Symposium — Ljubljana, Slovenia, 9–13 May 2027
The first announcement and call for abstracts have now been published. Visit the conference webpage for more information. - HVTT Webinar: Smart heavy vehicles within an intelligent transport environment
Online, 22 April 2026. Download the flyer here. - HVTT Webinar: Worldwide trends towards high-productivity transport
Online, 6 May 2026. Download the flyer here.
HVTT19 invitation
I sign off from a misty Cambridge, UK, where daily highs are currently hovering around 10 °C. Over the past couple of weeks, however, we have seen some warmer spells, clearer skies, and the appearance of yellow daffodils (predominantly of the Tête-à-Tête variety, I’m told), all suggesting that Spring is just around the corner. This follows a rather dreary and wet winter in which rainfall in England was 35% above the seasonal average, but which itself followed record dry conditions and drought across the country during the summer.
All the best,
Christopher de Saxe
Information Officer
International Forum for Heavy Vehicle Transport & Technology
