Smart freight TranspOrt and logistics Research Methodologies

Project Information

STORM

Grant agreement ID: 101006700

DOI

10.3030/101006700

Project closed

EC signature date 23 October 2020

Start date 1 January 2021

End date 31 August 2023

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Smart, Green And Integrated Transport

Total cost

€ 1 530 141,25

EU contribution

€ 1 530 141,25

Coordinated by

TEKNOLOGIAN TUTKIMUSKESKUS VTT OY
Finland

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - STORM (Smart freight TranspOrt and logistics Research Methodologies)

Reporting period: 2022-07-01 to 2023-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The EU transportation sector is still largely reliant on fossil fuels, the use of which accounts for a quarter of the EU’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In 2017, 93% of the energy consumption in transportation – road, rail, sea, or air – was fossil fuel based. The freight sector accounts for the second largest share of transport emissions after personal transport and is forecasted to increase by 40% of 2030.

In response to this, over its lifespan STORM project has explored novel concepts for freight and logistics, operational models, and innovative solutions for efficient integration of zero-emission vehicles, with the aim to support the transition of this transportation sector towards a sustainable future, both for private and public stakeholders (G2B, B2B, B2G, G2G).

To achieve its goals STORM focused in identifying unconventional data sources and through Big Data analytics and integration in new assessment frameworks attempted to better understand the behavioral aspects of the actors at both user and system levels. By doing so, the project has developed new generations of models and tools to provide operators, stakeholders and policy makers with better information and decision support systems to ultimately achieve zero carbon transition at multiple levels in the logistics sector.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Over its lifespan the STORM project has delivered the following results:

1. Identified future trends, knowledge and policy analysis needs and potential roles and possibilities for new modelling for freight transport in the EU through literature review, stakeholder interviews and interactions, as well as a prepared survey. Stakeholder consultation helped also to collect various views from business and operational perspective. Important areas where information and insights are lacking were outlined.

2. Reviewed the state-of-the-art and the current knowledge gaps for Big Data analytics, methods, and algorithms in the freight sector, as well as relevant applications, challenges, and opportunities of big data exploitation. It was found out that variety of challenges are hindering the access and utilization of Big Data for freight transport applications.

3. The identified knowledge gaps and needs, as well as data sources were utilized to develop new frameworks and models, that were further utilized to empower three use case scenarios showcasing the impact of future freight and logistics innovations.

4. Summarized recommendations, experiences and views of the consortium members based on the achieved technical results in two summaries focused in providing a synthesized guidance for various stakeholders including research, business, innovation, and policies.

5. Project results and developments were summarized and disseminated through the provided project Toolbox: https://project-storm.eu/results/toolbox/ , as well as in dedicated newsletters and social media communications.

6. All major project outcomes were reported and communicated in various events, congresses, and conferences as: TRA2022, ITS Europe, 2022/23, IEEE Smart Cities Symposium, 2022/23, and ACCENT 2022. Stakeholder consultation events were organized and provided valuable feedback on the project developments, which were further disseminated through research publications.

7. The achieved results will be further exploited in forthcoming EU funding calls and national initiatives, as well as in commercial R&D offering development and preparation of teaching of teaching material for university programs related to logistics innovations.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The progress beyond the state of the art achieved by STORM refers to the following:

• Contributed to advancement of the knowledge in exploitation of big data for freight and logistics innovations, outlining identified hindering factors and future areas for research.
• Performed a review on knowledge and developments gaps for innovation from the perspective of current and enabling technologies and frameworks in logistics and identified important areas where insights are lacking.
• Contributed to evaluation of the perspectives for next generation fleets composed of EVs including related infrastructural, environmental, economic and future policy considerations by evaluating various logistics future and existing concepts.
• Elaborated summaries with future recommendations for research, business, and policies.


The major impacts are expected from the developed use case scenarios:

• The developed approach towards EU level charging network development for long haul freight, aims to impact the design considerations and future policies, towards developing the charging services in various EU states, focusing on practicalities as application of AFIR, energy needs, density, and geographical distribution etc., to support the efficient deployment of charging services fitting the needs of the long-haul freight business.
• The city logistics use case, showcased how through data and digital-twin like simulation, various zero-emission vehicle fleets scenarios can be evaluated from techno-economical perspective. Thus, it created impact for the B2C logistics segment in supporting the adoption of zero-emission vehicles in short time, with no risk for costly mistakes and need of physical piloting.
• The policy assessment framework proposed a new functionality towards creating impact in assessing various logistics concepts embedding enabling technologies outlook.
• Geared up the technology adoption and infrastructural deployment to speed up the decarbonization in EU cities through digital innovations.

The project progress was focused in also supporting several societal impacts which derive from the proposed innovations contributing to the decarbonization of the logistics sector, which is one of the main contributors to carbon footprint in cities. In particular, the fast adoption of clean technologies and solutions for logistics, will contribute to decrease the pollution in cities and enable better liveable conditions for the citizens, as well as the wide stakeholder collaboration will increase the knowledge and competitiveness of the EU logistics sector from provided inputs for development of new policies, competitive business concepts and new horizons for research and innovation. Thus, the progress beyond the state of the art in STORM represents a clear contribution to achievement of the European Green Deal Goals.

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