Purpose Electric freight vehicles (EFVs) are one of the solutions to improve city logistics’ sustainability. EFVs, that are electric powered light and heavy vehicles with a number plate, have the potential to make zero emission city logistics possible within the urban area. However, although trials have been undertaken for the last years, large-scale usage of EFVs in city logistics does not occur yet. EFVs are technically possi- ble, but the implementation of EFVs in practice is relatively limited. Design This chapter examines by reviewing current and past EFV implementations, what are the challenges, barriers and success factors for EFVs in city logistics operations. EFVs have especially positive envir- onmental effects, but are overall usually more expensive (especially in procurement) than conventional vehicles. Besides, other technical and operational issues remain to be solved, and many uncertainties still exist on long-term usage. Findings Three main barriers for large-scale EFV uptake are identi- fied. The current logistics concepts are developed for conventional vehi- cles and should be redesigned to fit EFVs better. Local authorities’ support is essential in order to find a positive (or not too negative) business case. And EFV implementation requires companies that want to be sustainable. This contribution presents examples of how some companies or authorities deal with these barriers. Value This chapter concludes by identifying elements that are necessary for acceleration of EFV uptake in city logistics operations.
Within the FREVUE project 80 fully electric freight vehicles have been deployed. It showed that city logistics operations can be performed by electric freight vehicles, but that at the moment the high vehicle purchasing costs are still a barrier for large scale utilisation of electric freight vehicles for logistics operations. Only for small EFVs (lighter than 3.5 tons) a short term feasible business case is possible. For the larger vans and rigid trucks, a feasible business case is not yet possible from an operator’s perspective, often not even with subsidies. Copyright © 2018 Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Inc. All rights reserved
The transition from diesel-driven urban freight transport towards more electric urban freight transport turns out to be challenging in practice. A major concern for transport operators is how to find a reliable charging strategy for a larger electric vehicle fleet that provides flexibility based on different daily mission profiles within that fleet, while also minimizing costs. This contribution assesses the trade-off between a large battery pack and opportunity charging with regard to costs and operational constraints. Based on a case study with 39 electric freight vehicles that have been used by a parcel delivery company and a courier company in daily operations for over a year, various scenarios have been analyzed by means of a TCO analysis. Although a large battery allows for more flexibility in planning, opportunity charging can provide a feasible alternative, especially in the case of varying mission profiles. Additional personnel costs during opportunity charging can be avoided as much as possible by a well-integrated charging strategy, which can be realized by a reservation system that minimizes the risk of occupied charging stations and a dense network of charging stations.
To reach the European Green Deal by 2050, the target for the road transport sector is set at 30% less CO2 emissions by 2030. Given the fact that heavy-duty commercial vehicles throughout Europe are driven nowadays almost exclusively on fossil fuels it is obvious that transition towards reduced emission targets needs to happen seamlessly by hybridization of the existing fleet, with a continuously increasing share of Zero Emission vehicle units. At present, trailing units such as semitrailers do not possess any form of powertrain, being a missed opportunity. By introduction of electrically driven axles into these units the fuel consumption as well as amount of emissions may be reduced substantially while part of the propulsion forces is being supplied on emission-free basis. Furthermore, the electrification of trailing units enables partial recuperation of kinetic energy while braking. Nevertheless, a number of challenges still exist preventing swift integration of these vehicles to daily operation. One of the dominating ones is the intelligent control of the e-axle so it delivers right amount of propulsion/braking power at the right time without receiving detailed information from the towing vehicle (such as e.g. driver control, engine speed, engine torque, or brake pressure, …etc.). This is required mainly to ensure interoperability of e-Trailers in the fleets, which is a must in the logistics nowadays. Therefore the main mission of CHANGE is to generate a chain of knowledge in developing and implementing data driven AI-based applications enabling SMEs of the Dutch trailer industry to contribute to seamless energetic transition towards zero emission road freight transport. In specific, CHANGE will employ e-Trailers (trailers with electrically driven axle(s) enabling energy recuperation) connected to conventional hauling units as well as trailers for high volume and extreme payload as focal platforms (demonstrators) for deployment of these applications.
Road freight transport contributes to 75% of the global logistics CO2 emissions. Various European initiatives are calling for a drastic cut-down of CO2 emissions in this sector [1]. This requires advanced and very expensive technological innovations; i.e. re-design of vehicle units, hybridization of powertrains and autonomous vehicle technology. One particular innovation that aims to solve this problem is multi-articulated vehicles (road-trains). They have a smaller footprint and better efficiency of transport than traditional transport vehicles like trucks. In line with the missions for Energy Transition and Sustainability [2], road-trains can have zero-emission powertrains leading to clean and sustainable urban mobility of people and goods. However, multiple articulations in a vehicle pose a problem of reversing the vehicle. Since it is extremely difficult to predict the sideways movement of the vehicle combination while reversing, no driver can master this process. This is also the problem faced by the drivers of TRENS Solar Train’s vehicle, which is a multi-articulated modular electric road vehicle. It can be used for transporting cargo as well as passengers in tight environments, making it suitable for operation in urban areas. This project aims to develop a reverse assist system to help drivers reverse multi-articulated vehicles like the TRENS Solar Train, enabling them to maneuver backward when the need arises in its operations, safely and predictably. This will subsequently provide multi-articulated vehicle users with a sustainable and economically viable option for the transport of cargo and passengers with unrestricted maneuverability resulting in better application and adding to the innovation in sustainable road transport.
