The day after the Danish Parliament's pool for the green transition of heavy road transport, the Green Transition Denmark came up with its suggestions on how to set the best framework for the transition.

"With the support pool closed, we should discuss how best to move forward with the transition to electric trucks," says Jeppe Juul, Head of Transport Policy at the Green Transition Denmark.

One of the more surprising elements of the Green Transition Council's plan is the elimination of the existing support pools. Instead, future support should be given as investment support in the form of an extended tax deduction. According to him, this would be a scheme that is easy to administer for both the state and the hauliers.

"In recent years, we have experienced a stop-go policy in the market for electric trucks due to the support schemes. We need to move away from that and instead gradually transition to a more normal market," says Jeppe Juul.

At the same time, the Green Transition Denmark proposes that electric trucks will in future receive a 100% discount on road tax for trucks, while the payment for regular trucks will be raised to the EU's maximum amount.

"The key to a rapid green transition of trucks is that it becomes more expensive to run on fossil fuels and cheaper to run on electricity. With the changes we propose, we increase the incentive even further so that significantly more truckers can get a positive business case by switching to electricity," says Jeppe Juul.

Among other initiatives, the Green Transition Denmark proposes that the requirement for mandatory blending of biofuels be stopped, that a pool be set aside for demonstration projects with self-driving electric trucks, and that a special fast-track scheme be established for hauliers who switch to electricity, but who today can sometimes wait a long time for an additional electricity connection.

"The electrification of the transport sector is the EU's way out of its deep dependence on oil from states that are not necessarily friendly to us. At the same time, it is crucial for having a competitive business community and quickly and significantly reducing our climate impact," concludes Jeppe Juul.

Read the recommendations here: Green Road 2030 – Electrification for safety, competitiveness and climate