Electric HGVs power a greener polar route
Clean transport isn’t just transforming Britain’s roads – it’s powering science at the ends of the Earth
In a world first, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is using 42-tonne electric HGVs to transport vital supplies for polar research through a partnership with Cambridge-based Welch’s Transport, everything from scientific instruments to toothpaste now travels to UK ports on zero-emission vehicles before being shipped to Antarctica and the Arctic.
Each electric truck saves around one tonne of CO₂ every 630 miles – roughly the CO₂ from an economy-class return flight from London to New York – and together the fleet has already cut 55 tonnes, equivalent to taking more than 30 petrol cars off the road for a year.
The project is backed by U
KRI’s Innovate UK through the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator – part of the UK’s eFreight 2030 initiative – which is trialling 100 electric HGVs and 32 megawatt-scale charging hubs nationwide.
The insights from BAS and Welch are helping accelerate the shift to cleaner, cheaper, more reliable freight across the UK.
This partnership is also fuelling local growth. Welch’s saw 15% business growth in 2025, driven by customers switching to sustainable logistics. More clean-transport contracts mean more jobs: the company expects a 10% increase in staff by late 2026 and is planning a 10% expansion of its overall HGV fleet – including more electric vehicles.
This collaboration shows how UK science and industry are driving cleaner, smarter logistics – strengthening national resilience, cutting carbon and powering green growth from Cambridge to the polar regions.