The Chair of Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM) of RWTH Aachen University, together with numerous partners, has successfully completed the pilot phase of the DRivE research project funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport.
In a two-month field test, two university institutions and five industry players tested a specially developed software that is designed to enable reliable route planning in the transportation industry with regard to current ranges and available charging points on board trucks with alternative power drives.
“Digital solutions that ensure efficiency and planning reliability can significantly advance electric mobility in the commercial vehicle sector and increase the acceptance of alternative power drive concepts among logistics companies and freight forwarders,” states PEM Director Professor Achim Kampker.
So far, the lack of transparency regarding the availability of charging and refueling options in the transport industry has led to concerns about detours and long waiting times.
Since the range of todayʼs electric and fuel cell trucks is between 200 and 500 kilometers, real-time information on the charging and refueling infrastructure along the routes is indispensable – “especially since the network of filling stations for hydrogen and liquefied natural gas is still very limited throughout Germany, and access to e-charging stations is often difficult to plan,” Kampker says.
However, the DRivE project has already shown that planning refueling and charging points in the dispatching process with the help of digitalized networking increases confidence in trucks with alternative power drive systems.
During the eight-week test phase under real conditions, the algorithm was gradually optimized to ensure safe route planning for commercial vehicles with battery, hydrogen, or liquefied natural gas (LNG) power drives in the future.
Now that the functionality of the route planning system, which was developed by the Aachen-based start-up company and project initiator MANSIO, has been successfully demonstrated, the focus is on standardizing the fleet management interface.
Together with project partner Park Your Truck from Dessau-Roßlau, the plan is to implement an option for digitally reserving charging points in the software.
“DRivE” stands for ‘Data-Based Route Planning in Road Freight Transport with Different Energy Supply Technologies’ and is scheduled to continue until the end of 2024, focusing on how digital tools can help companies in the logistics industry to switch to eco-friendly heavy-duty trucks in long-distance transport.
In addition to PEM, the project partners include the Institute for Industrial Management (FIR) e. V. at RWTH Aachen University, Park Your Truck GmbH, ZeKju GmbH, MANSIO GmbH, Hammer Road Cargo, and Maintrans Internationale Spedition.
“We are delighted to be sending out a strong signal as a consortium and providing an important building block for strengthening alternative power drive technologies in long-distance transport,” indicates Regina Schrank, Head of Service Management, FIR at RWTH Aachen University.
“DRivE has created an excellent project environment for industry and research. Together, we have achieved excellent results and have been able to integrate a resilient routing algorithm into our platform,” states Dr. Maik Schürmeyer, founder and CEO of MANSIO GmbH, Aachen.
“It is a major challenge to combine charging processes with both driving and rest times as well as planned charging stops. Without a reliable data flow and simple communication with the driver, this is not feasible,” says Thorsten Stuke, co-founder of ZeKju GmbH, Augsburg
“Range anxiety is the new worry of electric truck drivers, who are already characterized by their daily search for a parking space. Reservable truck parking spaces and charging stations provide a remedy,” indicates Denise Schuster, founder and CEO of Park Your Truck GmbH.
“By optimizing the integration of charging and refueling stations into our transport processes, we can use our fleet with alternative power drive systems in a reliable and eco-friendly way,” says Nico Troiano, Operations Manager, Maintrans Internationale Spedition GmbH, Langenselbold.
“With projects such as ‘DRivE’, we are actively committed to making freight transport more diverse, efficient and eco-friendly. The latest developments clearly show that alternative power drive types can play a key role in the future of transportation,” states Stefan Küpper, Managing Director of Hammer Road Cargo GmbH & Co. KG, Aachen.
