14 minute read
GIVING UP CONTROL
LOOKING TO THE HORIZON
Our cities are less polluted during the COVID-19 outbreak, but freight emissions are rising. Einride talks about fighting a cleaner fight
Daily carbon dioxide emissions dropped by 17% in April, accounting for about 17 million tonnes less of CO 2 every day. In fact, the European Union has seen total CO 2 emissions decline by 20% from 1990 to 2016 as well. Taken at face value, one could be forgiven for thinking our global emissions levels are on the right track at the moment given the international agreements to curb greenhouse gas effects and the ongoing global pandemic.
But these figures belie the underlying causes for concern, specifically in the area of road freight transport. During the same period in Europe, transport emissions increased by 27%, and today, freight equipment accounted for nearly half of the six sectors identified by the Energy Transition Commission as the most difficult to decarbonise. Trucks alone are the fastest-growing source of CO 2 emissions worldwide, expected to contribute to a 15% increase in total global emissions by 2050, and accounting for nearly 7% of that total today. Transitioning to electric, as seen with passenger cars, comes with hurdles, both in implementation and in terms of cost.
So what’s the solution for road freight transport? Simply put: electric
first, autonomous second. The only way to reverse the trend is through the widespread adoption of electric freight solutions, propelled by the implementation of autonomous transport systems and coordinated by an intelligent freight mobility platform that will make scaled adoption of electric freight transport exponentially more sustainable and cost-competitive.
Amplified by a global respiratory virus outbreak, the dangers of current emissions in urban areas around the globe are becoming clear. Air pollution is already a risk factor for many illnesses, and is a factor in hospitalisations and deaths for these
conditions, not to mention the increased risk of severe symptoms from contracting COVID-19. Today, heavy-duty vehicles are the main source of health-threatening NOx emissions in urban areas. As a result, 24 cities housing more than 62 million people will ban diesel vehicles, and 13 of those will ban all internal combustion vehicles by 2030.
Incremental improvements to the efficiency of diesel engines are not enough, and in a scenario where a great majority of trucks remain diesel-powered, reaching the EU’s carbon neutrality goals for 2030 or 2050 will be impossible according to the International Transport Forum. Quite simply, electric vehicles (EVs) eliminate these harmful emissions at the source, and autonomous electric transport (AET) can improve the sustainability of these solutions exponentially. Vehicles like the Pod - with no driver’s cab whatsoever - reduce vehicle weight, allow for more design flexibility, increase productivity by nearly 200% over a human-operated vehicle, and allow for even greater scheduling and routing optimisation, enhancing the sustainability of electric freight exponentially.
This solution will have an even greater impact in other countries and regions outside of our own, given that the emission reduction potential will increase slightly in Sweden and Nordic countries from 2018- 2030 due to their current low-footprint electricity. The same reduction potential is expected to significantly increase by 2030 in the EU, from 56% to 83%, and in the US from 34% to 73% given the current targets for carbon intensity in electricity production. By 2025, a network of 10,000 electric and autonomous trucks coordinated by our freight mobility platform would offset at least 904,000 tonnes of CO 2 emissions per year.
According to Dr Mehdi Akbarian - Director, Efficient Mobility at autonomous and electric vehicle tech company Einride, “Electrification is the only way for road freight to reach emission reduction goals. Einride makes it possible with intelligent freight mobility and autonomous electric transport (AET) solutions.”
Despite the clear benefits, there are still hurdles to the widespread adoption of electric and autonomous vehicles at the practical level. While electrification results in lower operational costs (given the lower costs of electricity compared to diesel), the higher acquisition cost of EVs, as well as their need to charge during a work day, will be a barrier to their scaled adoption without intelligent planning.
There are also infrastructure concerns for implementing electric trucks, let alone AET. Sparse charging networks and a lack of fastcharging options for the longer-distance and higher-volume demands of road freight are not yet up to snuff, making for an operational barrier to those intent on electrification. This is where the freight mobility platform comes in: simplifying the implementation of EVs and AET so that this upfront investment can immediately have the greatest impact on emissions and cost reduction.
The embodied emissions associated
17%
THE ONLY ROAD TO TAKE
“Electrification is the only way for road freight to reach emission reduction goals,” says Dr Mehdi Akbarian. with battery production of electric trucks has also been a source of contention. While an electric truck starts its life with a higher embodied footprint, its lower operational emissions result in an overall CO 2 offset compared to a diesel vehicle. Their life cycle comparison tells a promising story: even with the current electricity mix, an EV will offset its embodied footprint early in its life. This breakeven between EVs and diesel vehicles will materialise after nearly 30,000 km of driving in Sweden and 145,000 km on average for the rest of the world, resulting in CO 2 emission savings over their remaining lifetime, typically of around 1,000,000 km.
Perhaps the highest hurdle is making the unit economics of electric trucks work in favor of cost-competitiveness with conventional diesel vehicles. Battery-powered trucks must be charged regularly and with a driver in the vehicle, which without proper planning decreases truck utilisation. This makes operating electric trucks with a diesel vehicle mindset cost-neutral at best, and cost-prohibitive at worst. Einride’s platform rethinks electric vehicle implementation in freight, ensuring that manually-driven EVs are operated as efficiently as possible with high utilisation to avoid wasted capacity, accounting for every possible variable.
The biggest boost electric trucks can receive to cost-effectiveness is by making them totally autonomous. Removing the driver from the equation improves the business case exponentially, making charging wait times for operators something that does not require oversight and improving the potential of scheduling without having to account for swapping drivers. Our solution can reduce operating cost by up to 20% per kilometer compared to diesel trucks with platform-coordinated electrification alone, while implementing autonomous and electric capability and an operator to Pod ratio of 1:10 would result in an additional 50% reduction in operating costs per day.
Whether by personal choice or by organisational or governmental mandate, urban diesel freight will be a thing of the past before we know it. Implementing electric and autonomous transport solutions are not only the most sustainable way forward for road freight, but will also be the most cost-effective with intelligent planning.
Einride’s own vision is to make AET the future of road freight through costcompetitive and sustainable solutions, both today and tomorrow. A comprehensive
freight mobility platform turns the implementation of these solutions from difficult guesswork to intelligent planning and execution. The scaled adoption of this technology is required if we aim to eliminate - and even reverse - the impact that diesel freight has on the environment.
“The best way forward for road freight to eliminate emissions and reach global targets while remaining cost-competitive with diesel freight is through the widescale implementation of autonomous electric transport (AET),” says Karin Schlingmann – VP Product, Freight Mobility Platform, Einride. “That means implementing networking software for electric and autonomous transport that considers the unique characteristics of these new freight systems.
Just over 50 years ago, we landed on the moon. What is perhaps humankind’s greatest achievement was accomplished with more than a decade of research and development, warehouses full of calculations made with pen and paper, and less computing power than the average person has in their smartphone today. In the decades since, the rapid development of technology has resulted in an exponential improvement in capability, and as a result, the recent NASA-SpaceX mission was largely automated, a far cry from the comparably primitive space capsules of the late 1960s.
In contrast, the transport networks we rely on today to move goods and supplies on the road are nearly as analog as ever. Rudimentary software systems and penand-paper solutions remain the norm, coordinating freight that is carried out by unsustainable diesel trucks. In fact, according to 2016 data, road freight transport vehicles in Europe covered the distance to and from the moon over 176,000 times in a year. As a result, the road freight industry is responsible for 7% of all global emissions and expected to increase that figure by an additional 15% if nothing changes. Solutions to this problem exist and are being rapidly developed today - specifically electric and autonomous freight - but the question remains: if we’re shooting for the moon, why not make use of technology to get there as quickly and easily as possible?
Electrifying and automating road freight may not be as complicated as space travel, but there are copious unique variables to consider and plan for that will make the solution exponentially more effective. The best way forward for road freight to eliminate emissions and reach global targets while
ROUTE PLANNING
Einrad believes that fleets of unmanned Pods will begin operating shipping routes autonomously in the near-future.
A VISION OF FUTURE FREIGHT
Einrad says it can transform electric freight from a guesswork replacement for diesel trucks to an optimised network of emissions-free transport.
remaining cost-competitive with diesel freight is through the wide-scale implementation of autonomous electric transport (AET). That means implementing networking software for electric and autonomous transport that considers the unique characteristics of these new freight systems.
Operating electric vehicles (EVs) and ultimately AET requires a coordinated approach to vehicle planning, monitoring, and integration, with variables specific to a particular transport flow. Electric trucks have unique considerations that make them much different to operate than diesel vehicles, and as such warrant a different approach. Changing this requires thinking beyond the capabilities of current freight networks to what is possible through technology today.
Einride designed its own platform to not only to link all vehicles operating in the fleet digitally, but to provide optimised, dynamic route planning based on shipping demands, loading dock availability, and other considerations unique to electrified transport. The intention is to carefully manage the transition from diesel to electric and autonomous vehicles on a massive scale, and as soon as possible. Through machine learning, the more data the platform receives, the more effective it becomes at identifying bottlenecks and coordinating individual transport networks for the unique scheduling, routing and infrastructure demands of electric freight.
In order to realise reductions in a freight network’s overall emissions and improve cost-effectiveness, the platform requires tracking and analysing historical routes, driven distances, shipping volumes, and other relevant data. With this information, it can update scheduling, routing, and other protocols to account for relevant variables in a given network. Subsequently, it will highlight areas where electrification would have the most impact, and outline exactly how to make use of existing EV charging infrastructure as well as plan for new additions.
As an example of how this works in practice: one would expect that a 100km delivery between two points can be accomplished by an electric truck with 180km of estimated maximum range. However, that expectation fails to take into account the myriad of variables that can affect this range while still managing to maximise vehicle utilisation and minimie operational costs.
With a full load on-board, topography variations, traffic congestion, weather conditions, and even whether the driver is using heat or air conditioning in the cabin, actual range can vary significantly. The platform takes all of these factors into account to provide not only detailed live network insights to both supervisors and drivers, but also optimises charging, shift planning, and loading and unloading schedules for maximum efficiency and utilisation.
In short, our solution transforms electric freight from a guesswork replacement for diesel trucks to an optimised network of emissions-free transport. But perhaps its most important function is to set the
framework for a future of freight that is both autonomous and electrified. If widespread electrification is like getting to the moon, automation is like landing on Mars.
Preparing for the future of road freight – one that is entirely electrified and autonomous with vehicles like the Pod - requires thinking beyond the limits of analog computational capability. By using the platform to digitise and process a large set of relevant data on transport electrification and using machine learning to improve its implementation, we can set the foundation
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE FOR EINRAD
The team at Einrad want to assist the transition from diesel to electric and autonomous vehicles on a massive scale, and as soon as possible.
for a smooth transition to autonomy and the additional unique infrastructure and considerations it will require.
The digital transport orders and facility update recommendations the platform generates serve as a basis upon which to automate loading, unloading, and charging activities, necessities for the implementation of autonomous freight as no driver will be on board to supervise. Without it, it would be difficult for shippers and carriers to coordinate autonomous electric trucks with the precision that the platform enables, even
7%
Trucks currently contribute 7% of annual global CO 2 emissions
if they own and operate them already.
Beyond this, the platform is designed to scale functionality for the implementation of systems where one operator oversees and can control multiple vehicles at once. In the not-so-distant future, fleets of unmanned Pods will operate shipping routes autonomously, thereby increasing the freight capacity of an entire network while significantly reducing the operational cost and eliminating emissions. To reap the benefits of this system in the future, transport processes must be digitalised as early as possible, not just for autonomous systems but for electrification as well.
In transforming road freight to be not only sustainable and cost-effective but also scalable, we face a collective challenge that will require more than pen and paper to solve. Utilising the technology we have available that is specifically suited to the task means implementing intelligent solutions that make the transition to autonomous electric transport significantly simpler and exponentially more effective. This way, we’re not just shooting for the moon, but pushing the boundaries of what is possible far beyond it.
HOW LIDL AND EINRIDE ARE PARTNERING TO ELECTRIFY TRANSPORT
Einride says it will supply electric trucks to Lidl this year as the next step in a long-term partnership to transform Lidl’s supply chain to be emissions-free.
Lidl and Einride have been ambitious, since the start of their partnership in 2017, to electrify and automate deliveries to Lidl locations in Sweden.
The transformation to a zeroemissions transport network will take place in stages and focus mainly on electrification in the short term, with automation coming in the next phase.
“At Lidl, we intend to be the industry leader for sustainable and completely fossil-free transport by 2025. To enable this, we will now begin the transition to fully electric transport together with Einride” said Carl Seder, Logistics Manager of Lidl Sweden.
Initially, the project will focus on the Stockholm region, where regular transport between Lidl’s central warehouse and stores in the area with electric vehicles will commence this autumn. The scope will subsequently be expanded to include more of Lidl’s operations in Sweden. Lidl’s 2025 goal will serve as the first major milestone in what will be a long-term partnership between the two companies. By then, a significant proportion of all Lidl transport will take place with Einride electric vehicles, as well as many shipments completed without a driver in the vehicle.
“The transport solutions of the future are no longer simply pipe dreams. The technology exists today, and forwardthinking companies will lead the implementation. We are proud to work with Lidl and also reduce their transport costs substantially,” said Jonas Hernlund, CCO of Einride.
The platform that makes the transition possible is the Einride Freight Mobility Platform, an intelligent transport planning and execution engine, built to handle transport with all types of vehicles but focusing on electric vehicles – with or without a driver.
The platform collects transport data and automatically optimises routes and schedules while providing detailed plans for how to introduce electric transport into the fleet.
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