The Scottish government’s funding is spread across two programmes aimed at driving the transition to zero-emission heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) in Scotland. The lion’s share of the money – £1 million – is being put towards the SME Fleet Analysis Support fund.
In short, this provides up to £15,000 to SMEs to help them gain “practical, business-focused insight” into their fleet transition, identify suitable zero-emission technologies, and plan future investments. The Scottish Government says the scheme has already attracted strong interest from operators and will now be expanded to support more businesses pursuing fleet decarbonisation.
Alongside this fleet analysis programme, a further £900,000 has been allocated to the next phase of the Zero Emission Heavy Duty Vehicle Skills Challenge Fund. This initiative supports training providers, colleges and industry organisations in developing the skills required to maintain and operate battery-electric and hydrogen-powered heavy-duty vehicles as the sector shifts towards these technologies.
The government says this next phase will focus on supporting “projects that demonstrate best practice or new approaches to skills development, raising awareness of career paths, and improving access to skills for the decarbonisation of heavy duty vehicles”.
