Patent Landscape Report: Decarbonizing Heavy-Duty Road Transport

Heavy-duty road transport – trucks and buses – is critical to the global economy and accounts for a substantial share of transport emissions, with trucks and buses responsible for 31% and 9% of road transport sector emissions, respectively. With approximately 94% of this sector currently powered by fossil fuels, decarbonisation represents a crucial opportunity for emissions reduction. The decarbonisation of this segment of road transport is crucial towards achieving a sustainable energy transition as well as realising the tripling of installed renewable power and the doubling of the energy efficiency improvement rate by 2030.

Given the importance of buses and heavy-duty trucks in the global transportation sector, the main purpose of this report is to highlight the innovations being developed to decarbonize these two road transportation modes. To do so, the report leverages patent data from global patent databases to elucidate broadly where innovations are occurring and, based on the trends observed, pinpoint market and technology gaps, as well as opportunities relevant to making these road transport modes sustainable and efficient.

The transition away from internal combustion engines powered by fossil fuels is the central pillar of heavy-duty road transport decarbonization. Key technological pathways include battery-electric powertrains, hydrogen fuel cells, hybrid powertrains, and combustion engines operating on low-carbon fuels such as biofuels, synthetic fuels and natural gas. These technologies differ significantly in their maturity, infrastructure requirements, and suitability for specific use cases, but together they define the main options for reducing tailpipe emissions in heavy duty vehicles.