Hydrogen for long-haul road freight
A realist retroductive assessment
About
This lecture presents a study which focuses on arguably the most contentious energy supply choice for decarbonizing general-purpose long-haul road freight: hydrogen. Ten requirements for an energy supply choice to be feasible are identified. It is concluded that it is very unlikely that hydrogen will become feasible in the lifespan of a truck bought today. This means it can be disregarded as a current vehicle purchase consideration, as hydrogen vehicles will not undermine the competitiveness or resale value of a vehicle using a different energy source bought today. There are two principal innovations in the study approach: the consideration of socio-technical and political as well as techno-economic factors; and the application of realist retroductive assessment
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Continuing Professional Development
This event can contribute towards your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours as part of the IET's CPD monitoring scheme.
05 May 2026
6:30pm - 9:00pm
Organiser
- Somerset and West Wiltshire Local Network
Speakers
Dr Phil Churchman
Senior Researcher - Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds
Dr Phil Churchman is a senior researcher at the University of Leeds whose work focuses on the political and socio‑technical dimensions of road freight decarbonisation and transport transitions. He brings nearly three decades of senior industry experience from roles in strategy, sustainability and technology across the insurance, banking and consulting sectors. He holds degrees from Oxford and the University of East Anglia and completed his PhD in Transport Studies at Leeds, where he has produced award‑winning research on sustainable freight systems.
Programme
6:30 - 7pm: registration, networking and light refreshments
7pm: lecture