The ongoing electrification of truck transport poses complex challenges for the players involved. Within the project “TruckConnect”, three institutes at the University of Stuttgart are identifying the varied requirements for a single data platform, so that logistics companies, energy suppliers, charging station operators, and other participants in the transport system will be able to manage the change smoothly. The project is funded with a total of EUR 98,979.49 by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure within the framework of the innovation initiative “mFUND”.
The future of logistics is electric: In the context of the 2022 International Automobile Exhibition (IAA), Alexander Vlaskamp, CEO of the manufacturer MAN, explained: “We expect half of our trucks sold to run on electricity by 2030.” Martin Daum, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck AG, even expects electric and fuel cell vehicles to account for 60 percent of the total sales volume by 2030. Not least, in terms of sustainable mobility, policymakers are focusing on the electrification of road freight transport.
A European data platform as a basis for the transition to electric heavy transport
But how can electrified vehicles be integrated as smoothly as possible into existing logistics systems and processes? This question is the focus of the project “TruckConnect”, which is funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) and in which the Institute of Human Factors and Technology Management (IAT), the Institute of Power Transmission and High Voltage Technology (IEH), and the Institute of Mechanical Handling and Logistics (IFT) at the University of Stuttgart are involved. The aim of the project is to create a catalog of requirements for the implementation of a European data platform for battery-electric heavy transport. Because one thing is certain: The transformation can only be successful if it is data-based. The intelligent platform is intended to enable the exchange of data between transport systems and energy systems as well as synchronize energy and transport requirements in such a way that, in the future, battery-electric trucks can be used as reliably as Diesel trucks – while maintaining security of supply.
The catalog of requirements identifies a variety of issues in the logistics system
The transition from conventional to electric vehicles entails a variety of changes and requirements in the logistics process, from delivery windows and ramp processes to operator models for the charging infrastructure. “Due to the large number of actors involved and the processes behind them, there are many interdependencies and interactions that must be thought through in advance and planned thoroughly,” explains Felix Otteny, Project Manager at the IAT. This is why the scientists wanted to produce a catalog of requirements first, instead of starting right away with a prototype. In the catalog, the researchers answer questions such as: What is changing where in the logistics system? What are the critical points and how can they be prevented? Who builds and plans the charging infrastructure and which operator models are behind it? What role do highway rest areas play, for example, and how can sector coupling succeed?
“In the project, we are striving for a European solution,” Otteny emphasizes, because the logistics system does not end at the national border. “If the Polish freight forwarder cannot register at the charging station or even book it in advance, the entire supply chain comes to a standstill.” The operator issue, too, is central to the success of the data platform, because when private-sector business models come into play, incompatible isolated solutions are created in the worst case, which, in turn, bring the logistics process to a standstill.
The project “TruckConnect” is running from September 2022 to August 2023 and creates an important basis for the upcoming transformation process toward climate-friendly long-distance transport.
About the mFUND of the BMDV:
Within the framework of the innovation initiative “mFUND”, the BMDV has been funding data-based research and development projects for the digital and connected mobility of the future since 2016. Project funding is supplemented by active professional networking between stakeholders from politics, business, administration and research as well as by making open data available on the Mobilithek platform. You can find further information at mFUND-Website.
Expert Contact:
Felix Otteny, Energy Innovation, Institut für Arbeitswissenschaft und Technologiemanagement IAT, University of Stuttgart, Allmandring 35, 70569 Stuttgart, Telefon +49 711 970-2348, e-mail