Road freight is a key component of the Canadian economy, with an estimated 90% of freight shipments in Canada being hauled by truck. It is also one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions with medium and heavy-duty vehicles, accounting for 27% of Canada's transportation emissions and 6% of Canada's total emissions.
Given the importance of this sector, the Government of Canada announced the Zero Emission Trucking Program (ZETP) as part of a suite of initiatives announced in the March 2022 Emissions Reduction Plan. The ZETP was allocated $75.8 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, to accelerate the safe deployment of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicles (MHZEV) on Canadian roads through research and deployments. To achieve this mandate, the ZETP is undertaking four key program activities:
- Provide capacity funding to Provinces & Territories (PT), Municipalities, Port & Airport authorities, and Standards Development Organizations to develop, modernize, and align training, guidance, codes, standards and regulations for zero emission trucking.
- Support Heavy-Duty Zero Emission Vehicle (HDZEV) deployments to bring industry, Federal/Provincial/Territorial governments and research stakeholders together to evaluate these technologies in Canadian conditions, share best practices, and accelerate HDZEV readiness in Canada.
- Address data and knowledge gaps to remove barriers to the introduction of zero emission trucks in the Canadian marketplace (e.g. reports on Battery Technologies for Electric Long-Haul Trucks and a Canadian Trucking Dataset Meta Analysis), validate MHZEV safety performance and inform the development of new safety requirements, as needed (e.g. hydrogen safety, sound testing, electrical and battery safety, Automated Driver Assistance Systems, field-of-view).
- Construction of a 24,000 sq ft Commercial Vehicle Lab, that is accessible to GoC, Industry, other orders of government and academics, to augment MHZEV testing capabilities in Canada.
If you have questions or would like to reach out to find out more about program activities, please contact us at: ZETProgram-ProgrammeCZE@tc.gc.ca
Program Activities – Past and Upcoming:
- Zero Emission Trucking Workshop #1: Technology Readiness (September 2022).
- Zero Emission Trucking Workshop #2: Operational Readiness (December 2022).
- Zero Emission Trucking Workshop #3: Infrastructure Readiness (February 2022).
- Provincial and Territorial Call for Proposals (CFP #1): Accelerating Regulatory Readiness and Alignment for Zero Emission Trucking (Closed in March 2023).
- Battery technologies for electric long-haul trucks report (Released in July 2023)
- Call for Proposals # 2 for PTs, Canadian Municipalities, Port and Airport Authorities, Public Sector Organizations and Indigenous organizations (CFP #2): Accelerating Regulatory Readiness and Alignment for Zero Emission Trucking (October 2023).
- Request for proposals (RFP #1) to support trucking testbed deployments of HDZEVs (May 2023).
- Request for proposals (RFP #2) to support trucking testbed deployments of HDZEVs (December 2023).
- Trailer Aerodynamic Treatments Report (April 2024).
- Government – Academic MHZEV Workshop (April 2024)
- Canadian Trucking Route Dataset Meta-Analysis (April 2024)
Transport Canada's Innovation Centre
If you are interested in learning more about research and innovation taking place at Transport Canada across all modes of transportation, please visit this page containing information on Transport Canada's Innovation Centre and its ongoing programming.
Incentives for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicles Program (iMHZEV)
This page contains details on available federal purchase and lease incentives for medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles.
Zero-emission vehicle charging stations
Canada already has thousands of ZEV charging and re-fuelling stations and the number of new locations continues to grow. Find out how Natural Resources Canada's Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program is helping to make your ZEV journey hassle-free.
Greening Freight Programs
This page contains training, tools and resources to help Canadian fleets lower their fuel consumption, operating costs and vehicle emissions.
Government of Canada Zero-emission vehicles Hub
This page contains information and links to all Government of Canada initiatives on Zero-emission vehicles.