A glimpse into the last-mile urban transport vehicles of the future
.Electrified logistics has emerged as an effective answer to the requirements of an on-demand economy in combination with the need for a liveable and accessible urban environment. The EU-funded URBANIZED project is working to future-proof cities with sustainable last-mile delivery by solving the trade-offs between ‘one size fits all’ and ‘design for purpose’ in the conception of adaptable and modular all-electric light commercial vehicles.
E-mobility solutions based on integration, modularity and connectivity
“We consider the URBANIZED innovations as key enabling technologies in the transition towards environmentally friendly, safe and less space-demanding urban logistics,” says project coordinator Salvador Ruiz. URBANIZED’s originality stems from three different areas: the powertrain, the cargobody and fleet management solutions. Firstly, the project is developing a novel e-powertrain platform that is both scalable and modular and developed with component right-sizing. Part of the work can be found in the team’s paper ‘Electric Drivetrain Optimization for 48V Urban Vehicles’. Moreover, the adaptability of its easily swappable multipurpose modular cargo bodies means URBANIZED solutions conform to the fluctuating demands in logistics. Although not final yet, a prototype of the vehicle is ready, and the team is ensuring that it is fit for purpose. Double modularity, through compartmentalised and swappable multipurpose cargo bodies, offers the ease of use and flexibility needed to explore innovative logistics operations. This element enables an easy transfer of goods following the Physical Internet concept, new solutions for consolidating goods in parcel lockers and new urban logistic hubs, whilst reducing oversized fleets that serve fluctuating demands of different logistics streams. Additionally, improved e-powertrain and front cabin design enhance the energy efficiency and safety of the vehicle. Lastly, an integrated multi-level energy management system optimises the cloud vehicle interconnection to maximise energy savings, occupant comfort and vehicle travel time in case of time-sensitive tasks. More information about this feature can be found in the project report on multi-layer energy management system architecture and interfaces.
When urban logistics and the automotive industry cooperate constructively
To achieve impactful results, strong synergies needed to be established between urban logistics providers and automotive partners. During project development, the URBANIZED management team purposefully created a consortium that strongly represents both worlds, in a bid to connect them. “Automotive partners needed to learn about small urban electric vehicles, which are different from their usual electric vehicle target, passenger cars. Vice versa, the small electric vehicle market is still an emerging market in urban logistics, which requires logistics-oriented partners to consider the economic background of large-scale automotive players,” explains Salvador Ruiz. “We are glad this challenge has been overcome and has created fruitful insights between partners.” URBANIZED is now in its testing and validation stage, aiming to have a fully tested demonstrator fit for operation in urban environments by the second half of 2023. The team aims to further explore the collaboration between partner organisations to maximise impact. In parallel, the consortium will explore replicability and exploitation pathways for the results to benefit a variety of different urban logistics streams. The team will be sharing many results in the coming year. All updates will be published on the project’s LinkedIn page.
Keywords
URBANIZED, urban logistics, electric vehicles, powertrain, cargo bodies, energy management, smart mobility, last-mile delivery
