Long-haul trucking is considered one of the hardest activities to decarbonise. Industry experts differ on whether the solution is hydrogen trucks – which are less efficient but have greater range - or battery electric trucks, which will be cheaper to run but need more stops to recharge.

It’s a technical issue, but a hotly argued one, even provoking a spat between Bill Gates and Elon Musk on X.

So far Europe is betting on both horses. The EU’s Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation, agreed in March 2023, mandates the parallel development of pan-European hydrogen and electric charging networks, to accommodate both types of trucks.

But recent comments by TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné may just give pause for thought.

TotalEnergies has been one of Europe’s most bullish and vocal supporters of hydrogen trucks. Together with Air Liquide, they established a joint venture with the objective of establishing 100 hydrogen refuelling stations by the end of the decade.

But speaking about TotalEnergie’s plans at a French Senate hearing on 29 April, Pouyanné admitted that “I’m not sure we were completely right” and acknowledged that batteries would probably win out for long-haul trucking.

His arguments will be familiar to hydrogen sceptics.

The EU’s new carbon pricing scheme for road and heating fuels (ETS2) – set to be introduced across the bloc in 2027 – could lead to higher price hikes than initially thought, key lawmakers told Euractiv.

Key EU lawmaker Peter Liese already eyeing next CO2 price revamp

German EU lawmaker Peter Liese is already eyeing the next revamp of the EU’s emissions trading scheme, wants a CO2 ‘central bank’, and is pushing for his party to stay the course on EU climate targets, he told Euractiv in an interview.

What’s behind the wave of recent incidents on Boeing planes?

Boeing has been in the headlines lately following a series of problems with its aircraft, with the most recent incidents in Turkey and Senegal.

China’s BYD will consider second Europe plant in 2025, executive says Chinese automaker BYD will consider building a second assembly plant in Europe in 2025, its European managing director Michael Shu said on Thursday. Speaking at the FT’s Future of the Car conference, Shu said that BYD will bring a low-cost electric vehicle based on its Chinese Seagull model to Europe.

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