About – Freight Transportation

Freight transportation includes heavy, medium and light freight trucks; marine transportation, air transportation and rail transportation. By far, the largest energy consumers in this sub-sector are heavy trucks, consuming 510.7 petajoules, or 49.3 per cent of the energy used in the sub-sector. In fact, road transport comprising heavy, medium and light trucks, accounts for 80.5 per cent of the energy consumed by the freight transport sub-sector.

Diesel provides almost two-thirds of the energy required for the freight transportation sub-sector, followed by gasoline and heavy fuel oil.

Alternative fuels for freight transportation

One of the most common alternative fuels for freight transportation is biodiesel – a fuel derived from animal fats, waste vegetable oils, and crops such as soybean, canola, corn and sunflowers. Although it can be used on its own, it is most often blended as B20 (20 per cent biodiesel and 80 per cent conventional diesel) or B5 (five per cent biodiesel and 95 per cent conventional diesel). These fuels are used in both light-duty and heavy-duty diesel engines.

Liquefied natural gas and compressed natural gas are growing in popularity for freight transport, especially for short-haul trucking and municipal fleets.

A hybrid engine – diesel and natural gas – first injects diesel into the cylinder to assist with ignition, then natural gas as the primary fuel.

Another hybrid under development will use natural gas and hydrogen.