Hinterland transport
Charging infrastructure for trucks
Public charging infrastructure is vital for the electrification of heavy road transport, often established through collaboration between the energy sector and the transport industry. These stations are strategically placed at natural truck stops like petrol stations and ports, key freight hubs. To ensure sustainability, it's imperative that these charging stations are powered by renewable energy.
EV truck operation requires knowledge of daily energy consumption and optimal charging locations. At a home-depot, a standard 43 kW AC-charger takes around ten hours for a full charge, while a fast DC-charger reduces this time to about two hours.
Public charging stations play a crucial role in facilitating fast charging during routes, enhancing operational efficiency from origin to destination. This enables EV trucks to cover longer distances, improving daily route planning and driver schedules. Overall, efficient EV truck utilization supports the business case for investing in electric vehicles. The rising number of electric trucks underscores the growing demand for corresponding charging infrastructure. To enhance haulers' planning, a service enabling easy access to charging stations is crucial.
In October 2022, the first Nordic public truck charging facility opened at Circle K Vädermotet near the Port of Gothenburg, featuring six outlets with a 360-kW charging capacity each. In Sweden, a nationwide network of 130 public charging stations is slated for development between 2023 and 2024.
Volvo Trucks introduced a new service in October 2023, launching first in Sweden and expanding globally. This service, open to all truck brands, facilitates locating and accessing charging stations, with payment options available on the platform. Future features include charging time bookings.
The transition from fossil to electric trucks is supported by an expanding charging infrastructure network at strategic locations, aided by the Swedish Energy Agency. Apart from continued funding, a prerequisite for the development to continue is that stakeholders form partnerships to find available land in strategic locations as well as sustainable business models. Also, the local electricity grid may need to be adapted to manage the heavy effect loads for some 4-6 trucks charging at the same time.
Primarily stakeholders in the energy and transport sectors, supported by funding from the Swedish Energy Agency, have taken the responsibility for investing in public charging infrastructure for trucks.
Autonomous trucks
Autonomous driving projects are underway, such as MODI, a European initiative to accelerate the implementation of Connected, Cooperative, and Automated Mobility (CCAM) solutions. Volvo is testing level 2 systems to optimize driver-assist features, while Einride focuses on level 4 autonomy, including autonomous loading, unloading, and auto-charging. Although near-future autonomous trucks may need occasional human aid, remote operation allows one person to handle multiple vehicles simultaneously.
The SAE International levels of driving automation range from level 0 (no automation) to level 5 (fully autonomous). Levels 0-2 involve driver engagement with supporting features, while Levels 3-5 entail automated driving under limited to all conditions.
Regulatory issues currently limit widespread autonomous adoption, particularly regarding liability in accidents. Despite these challenges, Volvo emphasizes that autonomous trucks are more climate-friendly, productive, energy-efficient. While improving safety, reduce human errors, and have superior reaction times.
As autonomous trucks are introduced, unique challenges arise, such as the need for specific staging areas and potential changes to cargo handling. Autonomous trucks can operate 24/7 with minimal supervision, potentially impacting cargo drop-off points and prompting port authorities to consider new business models for cargo optimization.
Another pilot project – Pilot A – was led by Volvo Autonomous Solutions, with the aim of operating a fully automated truck between the cross-dock facility in Arendal and the Gothenburg RoRo terminal and/or the container terminal at the Port of Gothenburg. The project partners identified what adaptations were needed in the road infrastructure as well as adaptations in the cross-dock and terminals respectively. The main limitation of going from pilot to full scale implementation is to reach clarification on the regulatory issues of at what time autonomous trucks may be allowed to operate on level 5, as defined by the SAE International.
Photo: Einride
E-trailers (Transportnytt 2023)
Recent tests reveal that e-trailers lead to substantial fuel reductions. In a significant move since Autumn 2022, DB Schenker entered an agreement with Trailer Dynamics and Krone Commercial Vehicles Group to acquire 2,000 e-trailers. Essentially, an e-trailer is a trailer with electric propulsion supporting the truck cab, equipped with batteries ranging from 300 kWh to 600 kWh.
These e-trailers are designed to extend the range of electric trucks by up to 500 kilometers and can significantly reduce fuel consumption for conventional diesel trucks. DB Schenker's tests within their long-distance transport network demonstrated a remarkable decrease in diesel consumption, ranging from 24 to 55 percent.
DB Schenker highlights that the e-trailer's independent driving control system doesn't require an interface with the truck cab. Moreover, these trailers are versatile, compatible with trucks from various brands.
Intermodal railway and inland waterway
Many ports with unitized cargo handling support trimodal (sea, road, and rail) transport opportunities, including potential intermodal connections to inland waterways. Intermodal solutions involve loading containers onto trains or inland barges for transportation between the port and the point of origin or destination. However, sea-to-rail transfers often incur additional handling costs, requiring access to efficient intermodal terminals and effective transport solutions between the port and the intermodal terminal.
From a market perspective, viable intermodal solutions require a balanced export and import flow. the benefits of intermodal solutions include expanding the port's hinterland, improving cargo handling efficiency, significantly reducing transport emissions to and from the port, and mitigating congestion in surrounding road infrastructure.
Examples of usage include the Port of Gothenburg, where 60% of containers use intermodal railway solutions. The Gothenburg RoRo terminal has access to the Arken intermodal terminal, facilitating intermodal transport solutions. Similarly, the Port of Trelleborg's proximity to a railway enables intermodal solutions for RoPax ferries.
In planned developments at the Port of Gothenburg, ferry terminals with new railway connections will enable RoPax ferries to utilize intermodal transport solutions, shifting from road to rail.
While intermodal transport solutions using inland waterways have been established in continental Europe for decades, such solutions are yet to gain traction in Sweden. An attempt in June 2021 to establish an inland waterway container shuttle between Stockholm Norvik and Västerås was short-lived.
Increased adoption requires willingness from port authorities and/or terminal operators to invest in infrastructure and terminal equipment for intermodal solutions. Additionally, collaboration with an intermodal transport operator is essential to develop a sustainable business case and implement the actual transport solution.
Port authorities and/or terminal operators are best suited to initiate and collaborate with intermodal transport operators.
