ALBERT

Description: This paper reports on the application of electric automated vehicles in the city of Appelscha, The Netherlands. Appelscha is challenged with a predicted decline of inhabitants and an already shrinking public transport network. To preserve the region’s accessibility, the municipality started a pilot with electric automated vehicles. These vehicles drove on a separate cycle lane for six weeks in 2016. This pilot has shown that a pilot is possible, with little infrastructural changes. Even though the maximum speed of 15 km/h might suggest that automated vehicles are suitable to share the road with cyclists, the cycle lane in Appelscha was not sufficient due to the width of the cycle lane. No accidents occurred during the pilot.

Description: Will automotive be the future of mobility or will the motorcar era come to an end in the 21st century? Today, auto-mobility is still growing, but in the future, this will depend on its ability to adapt to the needs of modern society. Disruptive technologies like electrification, automation, and connectivity can make automotive more sustainable by striving for the Six Zero goals: Zero Emission, Zero Energy, Zero Congestion, Zero Accident, Zero Empty, and Zero Cost. These tempting goals can lead not only to a more sustainable ecology, but also to a new economy with more efficient use of the time and money needed for mobility. In this future mobility framework, this article describes the practice-oriented research of the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences with its regional partners to achieve these goals.

Description: Trucks consume an enormous amount of diesel annually and contribute significantly to the total CO2 emissions around the world. Electrification of these freight vehicles would lead to a reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Trailers, as part of heavy freight vehicles, are a great opportunity for innovative change. Electrifying the trailer would allow the combustion engine of the truck to cooperate with the electric motors in the trailer. The trailer would be able to regenerate energy using the electric motors built into the rear axis of the trailer. The energy that is regenerated could be stored in a battery power pack for later use. Using the principle of peak shaving, the combustion engine would be assisted by the active e-trailer. Peak shaving would occur when the calculated load on the combustion engine is highly above average, for example, during acceleration, climbing a hill, or during high speed. Energy from the power pack could be routed to the electric motors, adding propulsive force. This analysis of a fictive active e-trailer has focused on reducing fuel consumption and emissions. The energy consumption of the trailer and the energy regeneration were studied. For this analysis, two vehicle configurations were simulated within the MATLAB Simulink: one truck–trailer combination without the e-trailer application and one truck–trailer combination with the e-trailer application. Differences between the two simulated vehicle combinations have been analyzed and documented. The whole system would be self-sustaining by using the regenerating energy from braking and adjusting its assisting function according to the energy level of the power pack. However, better results would be achieved by charging the power pack periodically. By doing so, the reduction of fuel cost and emissions could be significantly improved.