Fuel for Thought

As the UK accelerates towards its net zero goals, logistics businesses are navigating both opportunity and uncertainty. Decarbonisation is no longer an abstract ambition; it is reshaping customer expectations, investment decisions, the regulatory landscape, and the long-term competitiveness of UK supply chains. However, the national conversation too often focuses narrowly on road transport.

Road freight is critical, moving around 80% of domestic goods by volume, but the UK cannot reach net zero by concentrating on a single mode. As an island nation dependent on global trade, the logistics network is inherently multimodal. Maritime, aviation, rail and road each play indispensable and interconnected roles. Failing to support decarbonisation across all modes risks inefficiencies and bottlenecks that ultimately limit overall emissions reductions.

Taking a truly multimodal view of decarbonisation 

The UK’s freight story begins and ends at its ports and airports. Maritime moves around 95% of imported and exported goods by volume; air freight supports time-critical and high-value trade; rail provides efficient long-distance transport; and road logistics connects the entire network.

For decades, policy and investment strategies have treated these modes separately. However, emissions do not respect modal boundaries. A sustainable supply chain is one where energy transitions are coordinated: where cleaner vessels link with decarbonising ports, where low carbon aviation fuels integrate into airport operations, and where rail freight terminals connect seamlessly with electrified road fleets.

This is why Logistics UK continues to advocate for a holistic, whole-system approach. A decarbonised logistics future depends on every mode moving in tandem, not isolation.

Rail freight: a strategic opportunity we cannot miss 

Rail freight provides one of the UK’s clearest immediate decarbonisation opportunities. It produces significantly lower emissions per tonne kilometre compared with road and can continue to remove road movements. However, limited investment in rail electrification risks undermining progress. With road freight moving closer to zero tailpipe emissions, rail could fall behind without sustained action.

The UK government’s target to grow rail freight by 75% by 2050 is welcome, but ambition alone is not enough. Real progress requires:

• Targeted infill electrification to enable continuous electric freight corridors.

• Modern, low carbon locomotives, including battery, hydrogen and alternative fuel options, supported by incentives for private sector investment.

• Improved freight access to the rail network, including better timetabling.

• Investment in terminals and last mile connectivity, ensuring effective integration with other modes.

The private sector is already demonstrating ambition through innovation partnerships exploring hydrogen traction, battery hybrids and renewable fuels. However, to scale these initiatives, operators need long-term certainty. Locomotives and terminal infrastructure have lifespans of several decades, meaning today’s decisions will shape emissions outcomes into the 2050s.

Successes, challenges and why innovation funding is essential 

Progress is already under way across all transport modes. Maritime operators are beginning to trial vessels that are ready to run on methanol and ammonia, while airlines are starting to scale up their use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Rail freight companies are testing new forms of alternative traction alongside digital optimisation technologies. At the same time, ports and airports are deploying energy‑efficient equipment and smart grid solutions to reduce emissions and improve resilience. Road operators are also moving ahead, electrifying fleets and trialling hydrogen and renewable fuels to support the transition.

However, shared challenges remain. Long asset lifecycles mean that vessels operating for 25–30 years, locomotives for 30–40 years, and aircraft often well beyond 25 years can significantly slow the uptake of new technology, making early and consistent policy clarity crucial. These long lifespans also interact with high capital costs, as emerging solutions – from methanol‑ready vessels to hydrogen locomotives – require substantial upfront investment, and adoption will lag without mechanisms to de‑risk early deployment.

At the same time, operators face uncertainty over future energy pathways and need confidence that the fuels or technologies they choose will remain viable, underlining the importance of predictable policy frameworks and robust infrastructure planning. This challenge is compounded by current infrastructure gaps, with cleaner fuels, electrification, SAF production and hydrogen distribution all needing investment and expansion to reach the scale required for a successful transition.

To address these challenges, the UK needs a sustained programme of innovation funding and real-world trials, enabling technologies to be proven in operational settings and accelerating commercial readiness. The success of zero emission HGV demonstrators like the government’s road freight focused ZEHID programme illustrates what is possible when targeted funding is applied. Other modes now need equivalent commitment.

Fuels and technology pathways: why multimodal decarbonisation must remain technology agnostic 

Different modes of transport have fundamentally different energy requirements. The energy intensity of global shipping is substantial, and aircraft have different constraints from locomotives. This diversity makes a technology agnostic approach essential. Ground operations across modes also require significant power and must transition to clean energy. Most currently use diesel for heavy lifting.

Maritime
A mix of methanol, ammonia, sustainable biofuels and efficiency-boosting digital tools is likely. Full electrification is viable only for short sea routes.

Aviation 
In the near and medium term, decarbonisation will depend heavily on SAF, with hydrogen-electric aircraft offering longer-term opportunities.

Rail 
Electrification remains the most efficient and proven long-term solution, but hydrogen, battery and renewable fuels will play important roles on non-electrified routes.

Road 
Adoption of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is progressing rapidly for vans and urban logistics, with hydrogen and renewable fuels potentially supporting heavier or long-distance operations.

The future will not be driven by a single fuel, but by a portfolio of solutions optimised for each mode. What industry needs most is consistent, emissions-based policy rather than prescriptive technology mandates.

Addressing asset lifecycles and ensuring infrastructure keeps pace

A major challenge in multimodal decarbonisation is aligning fleet renewal cycles with infrastructure development. Operators cannot invest in new technologies without confidence that fuelling, charging or bunkering infrastructure will be available. Equally, infrastructure cannot be built for technologies that operators may not be ready to adopt.

The UK therefore needs a national multimodal infrastructure strategy that:

• Provides long-term certainty.

• Aligns investment across ports, airports, rail freight terminals and road networks.

• Supports early deployment of alternative fuels.

• Enables scalable energy distribution and storage.

• Ensures interoperability across logistics hubs.

For senior leaders, strategic planning must increasingly consider infrastructure partnerships, energy procurement and cross-modal coordination. Logistics UK continues to call for a UK logistics network to be central to policymaking across all governments.

Conclusion: collaboration is essential to deliver a multimodal, low carbon future 

Decarbonising multimodal logistics is complex, but it also presents one of the UK’s most significant opportunities. A cleaner logistics system strengthens national resilience, reduces long-term operating costs, enhances competitiveness and meets growing expectations from customers and investors.

Progress is already being driven by innovation and ambition across the private sector. However, to reach full scale, operators require a supportive policy environment, consistent innovation funding and a long-term infrastructure strategy.

Alongside my colleague Stephanie Haszczyn, I am currently developing a discussion paper on this topic to present at the Multimodal conference in June. The paper will explore developments in the UK and internationally, focusing on innovation and technological advancement. To meet net zero, the logistics sector must decarbonise, and I will be examining what is needed to turn ambition into reality.

Logistics UK stands ready to work with operators, government and innovators to deliver the next phase of the UK’s low carbon logistics transition. By taking a whole-system approach – one that embraces all modes, supports technology choice and recognises the realities of long asset lives – the UK can build a logistics network that is cleaner, more resilient and fit for the future.

I am always keen to hear from operators across the modes, please reach out if you want to discuss this further [email protected]