RWTH Aachen University’s Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM) chair has initiated the pilot phase of the “DRivE” research project in collaboration with several partners. The project aims to enhance digital route planning for electric trucks, addressing critical challenges in long-distance freight transport.
The pilot phase, slated to run for two months, involves field-testing specially developed software on a battery-electric truck operated by Aachen-based logistics company Hammer Road Cargo. According to PEM, the software is designed to ensure safe route planning, taking into account factors such as current range and availability of charging points.
“DRivE” (Data-based route planning in road freight transport with various energy supply technologies) will continue until the end of 2024, focusing on facilitating the transition of logistics companies to environmentally friendly heavy goods vehicles. Key to this effort is optimizing route planning to include necessary charging stops—a critical consideration unique to electric trucks, which require sufficient charging power and space for parking during charging.
Professor Achim Kampker, Director of PEM, emphasized the project’s goal: “Our aim is to make the use of trucks with sustainable drive concepts more attractive by enabling them to cover their routes safely and well planned in advance with the help of digitalisation.”
Maximilian Bayerlein, project manager at PEM, highlighted the necessity of reliable route planning to achieve climate targets: “If the climate targets are to be achieved, long-distance journeys must also be completed with alternative drives.” He added, “A new routing algorithm is therefore intended to increase the planning reliability of transport companies and thus encourage investment in environmentally friendly drive technologies.”
Partners involved in the “DRivE” project include Hammer Road Cargo, Maintrans Internationale Spedition, Mansio GmbH, ZeKju GmbH, FIR e.V. at RWTH Aachen University, and Park Your Truck GmbH. The project is supported by funding from the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, BMDV.
The initiative also underscores efforts to expand charging infrastructure, exemplified by Park Your Truck GmbH’s recent installation of a charging park under the Charge your Truck label, aimed at facilitating electric truck adoption within the logistics sector.
