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City multi-Role Optimized Vehicle

Final Report Summary - CITY MOVE (City multi-Role Optimized Vehicle)

Executive Summary:

CITY MOVE aims at developing an innovative integrated vehicle solution fitting with the integrated city transport solution approach for a secure, flexible, reliable, clean, energy efficient and safe road transportation of goods across European cities, having also a significant impact on reduction of CO2 emissions and improvement in terms of safety and security.

"Freight transport logistics has an essential urban dimension. Distribution in urban conurbations requires efficient interfaces between truck deliveries over longer distances and distribution to the final destination over shorter distances. In addition, the distribution process between production centres and customers inside an urban area needs to be efficient and clean.......The development of these solutions requires the involvement of all stakeholders."

CITY MOVE aims at contributing to matching EC needs by integrating new technologies into a urban multi-role solution in a interoperable environment bringing to a significant breakthrough increasing in terms of efficiency and safety (in-vehicles) and reduction in CO2 emissions.

CITY MOVE has - among others - as key objectives the optimisation of the vehicle capacity and vehicle weight ratio.

However when dealing with Goods Delivery the key factors affecting optimization of performance in terms of environment and safety are not always positively correlated to the boundaries imposed by load capacity of vehicles.

Starting from this principle, CITY MOVE actions are addressed to enhance freight transport logistics industry towards long-term efficiency and growth having an impact on congestion, air pollution, noise pollution and dependence on fossil fuels. All such aspects cannot be left unchecked without putting at risk system efficiency.

CITY MOVE added value is based on the concept that the care to environmental aspects needs to be accompanied by a work done on a long-term approach, and to be undertaken in a EU perspective, if common basis for investment in tomorrow's freight transport systems have to be concretely achieved.

CITY MOVE focuses on effective goods transport as lever, potential and opportunity and not as barrier to sustainable development and competitiveness, taking in consideration relevant key factors, such as improvement of socio-economic benefits, cities attractiveness, reduction of adverse environmental and social impacts, by guaranteeing fair and equal accessibility for all.

In order to pursue such objectives, CITY MOVE - as user-oriented project - considers as fundamental the active involvement of a significant critical mass of Stakeholders from the early project stage acting as bridge between industries, relevant research community and the "real world" and to contribute to the integration between Urban transport and freight logistics making the last mile more efficient.

Then the main innovation of CITY MOVE is to look at the needs in a holistic and integrated approach, developing a new vehicle architecture specifically designed for the optimisation of the freight transport in urban areas.

A delivery vehicle is typically designed around a general architecture, designed not specifically for urban areas, adapted to the specific design.

All auxiliaries are then mainly based on the mechanical power available for the ICE (Internal Combustion Engine), with limitations and constrains that produce inefficiencies.

CITY MOVE will reconsider all the vehicle architecture starting from a Hybrid Powertrain base architecture and exploiting all possible benefits of such technology in terms of:

* Improved efficiency;
* Reduced environmental impact;
* Better management of auxiliaries and services.

A hybrid base allows the designer to choose, for the power, either the mechanical or the electrical source; this flexibility could produce, if well used, clear benefits in term of environmental impacts, efficiency and, last but not least, costs.

The same approach will be also used for other vehicle characteristic and layout (like dimensions, safety, security, noise reduction) in order to design a complete new vehicle concept for urban delivery missions.

CITY MOVE has a clear industrial approach that will guarantee the full deployment and production of the concepts in the next few years after the conclusion of the project.

With this approach the project will identify user-driven solutions aiming at removing the barriers or creating the conditions for the provision of value added freight transport services.

Project Context and Objectives:

CITY MOVE -“CITY Multi-role Optimized Vehicle”- addresses the Call FP7-SST-2008-RTD-1, Challenge 3 - SST.2008.3.1.3 “New Vehicle Concepts for Delivery of Goods”.

In the recent publication from the EC “Green Paper towards a new culture for urban mobility” is declared that “Distribution in urban areas calls for efficient interfaces between long-haul transport and short distance distribution to the final destination. Smaller, efficient and clean vehicles could be used for local distribution” [From “GREEN PAPER Towards a new culture for urban mobility”, adopted on 25 September 2007 - COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES].

Mission statement

Starting from this recent EC key point, CITY MOVE aims at developing a new vehicle concept for the Delivery of Goods and Urban Services. CITY MOVE strength stands in its transferability and full exploitation at Community level as well as at local level being based on standard technologies affordable for short term SOP (Start of production).

CITY MOVE contributes to a significant step ahead compared to the actual situation in terms of efficient Urban Vehicles dedicated to Goods Delivery through the development of innovative, user-oriented, environmental-friendly, energy-saving “city-based freight vehicles”, not altering the high effectiveness and performance of characteristic.

CITY MOVE addresses sustainable solutions generating relevant benefits for the whole value-chain: from industries to citizens.

CITY MOVE solutions are evaluated, following a full integrated and concerted approach, to understand the key selling features and main drawbacks. These analyses follows the value chain starting from users needs and then going to industrialization of the evaluated prototype.

By summarizing the main CITY MOVE objectives are:

- Developing an innovative integrated vehicle solution fitting with the integrated city transport solution approach for a secure, flexible, reliable, clean, energy efficient and safe road transportation of goods across European cities, having also a significant impact on reduction of CO2 emissions and improvement in terms of safety and security

- Contributing to matching EC needs by integrating new technologies into a urban multi-role solution in a interoperable environment bringing to a significant breakthrough increasing in terms of efficiency and safety (in-vehicles) and reduction in CO2 emissions

The project approach (see also figures in the attachment)

The main objectives of the project have been discussed with the major stakeholders in the field of urban Freight delivery. Then the technical specification have been defined for the development, either of specific vehicles, developed inside Workpackage 3, and of particular functionalities, developed in Workpackage 4.

The result are available on a series of prototypes. Due to the high number of development running in parallel, it has been decided, without any extra cost to the project, to increase the number of prototypes from two (as foreseen in the technical annex) to three.

Project Results:

CITY MOVE main added value is summarized in the following:

1) Vehicle Architecture:
- Development of a VEHICLE-BODY integrated Concept (including an overall reduction of external dimensions while keeping similar capacity in terms of capacity and dimension).
2) Vehicle Capacity (Volume & Weight):
- Increased actual vehicle ratio “paying Load/Gross Weight” by means of revised vehicles architecture, vehicle power-train and use of Innovative Material (for the Vehicle and for the Body)
3) Emissions and fuel consumption:
- Exploitation of Hybrid Technology and optimization for the Delivery of Goods in Urban Contests (e.g. use of Electric PTO, Identifying all the possible electrifications of auxiliaries, etc.)
4) Environmental/city friendly vehicle
- Use of refrigerating gas having a GWP about 1000 times lower compared to the State of Art
- Specifications and solutions for the reduction of the external noise with reference to the State of Art
5 ) Vehicle Flexibility:
- Improved Travel Performances (e.g.: longer refrigeration time allows longer mission, less travelled kilometers)
- reduced cost for Body Builders, more flexibility and modularity with several type of trailer
6) Safety & Security:
- Enhancement of the actual Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) (e.g. Innovative Anti-Roll Over and Collision Avoidance)
- Improved Protection of the Urban VRU (Vulnerable Road Users) through dedicated Innovative ADAS

Furthermore, CYTY MOVE proposes the use of the hybrid/full electric technologies to reduce consumption and emission from the vehicle. Electric hybrids are also very useful to provide higher flexibility for all auxiliaries, thanks to the increase in the available electrical energy on the vehicle.


Summary of the performed work and main results

In the first year the activities have been focused on WP2, User needs and specifications and WP6, Dissemination strategy, exploitation and stakeholders involvement.

A large event has been organized in Brussels on June 16th 2010, to present the project activity and to collect inputs from several representatives of the major stakeholder involved in Urban Freight Deliveries: city authority, shippers, freight carriers, vehicle manufacturers and residents.

These are the main outcome of the project in term of user needs.

* Consumption, pollution and noise reduction
o Greener, quieter vehicles that need less fuel for the same traveled distance.
* Economic issues: efficiency, cost effectiveness, and external cost reductions:
o Cheaper vehicles at use.
o Vehicles to break down less often.
o Cheaper maintenance costs.
o Reduced fuel budget, achieved
o Through lower fuel consumption.
* Vehicle utilization:
o Efforts in order to improve vehicle
 Utilization;
o Vehicle design should focus on
 Developing systems, devices and
 Various equipment to that end.
* Regulations for the enhancement of modal integration of logistic systems in the city and life quality

Starting from September 2010 up to the end of this first period, the activities have been focused on the development of the prototypes vehicles and the relative functionalities, that was the core work performed in the second period of the project together with the final evaluation on different test sites.

Three prototype vehicles have been realized for the different CITY MOVE technical objectives and tested in different European cities for the evaluation of the impacts and benefits.

In particular, the activities have successfully achieved the main following objectives (see pictures in attachment):

• Design of modular solutions (IVECO, Volvo, Chereau)
• Optimized Hybrid (IVECO) and electric (Volvo) powerline solutions
• Optimized and modular refrigerated box
• Development and integration of Safery applications: namely Vulnerable road use protection, Collision avoidance systems, Passive safety measures, Antirollover protection)

• The systems have been tested:

1) On the test track: in typical reconstructed use cases (Safety applications)
2) And in real use cases by “final customers/users”:

• Tests with Schenker in Sweden: dry goods (USSAB) and fresh goods (Polarbröd: Swedish bread)
• Tests with Danone in Bucarest


Summary of the main significant technical results achieved:

 User need and requirements
 Systems and functions specifications
 Urban & modular architecture
 Virtual and physical validations with 3 prototypes construction
 Environmental friendly vehicles with enhanced safety systems: prototype vehicles with smart auxiliaries/alternator and safety functionalities (Anti-rollover, Collision avoidance,...)

Potential Impact:

CITY MOVE project has been structured throughout three main “driving factors”, namely.

a. Transport efficiency
b. Clean & Quiet Urban Transport
c. Safety

This structure allowed to address the main following potential impacts.

1) Level of acceptance

CITY MOVE innovation has been designed starting from a user needs analysis to guarantee the acceptance of the solutions. These type of innovation approach is a key factor to improve adequacy and acceptance of freight vehicles circulation in urban areas having the following characteristics:

• Less emissions;
• Less noise;
• Reduced dimension, same load;
• More safety;
• Less congestion and space occupancy thanks to the reduced number of vehicles and lower dimensions

2) Urban transport system with better access for all.

City Move looks to urban transportation of freight, so there are no expected direct impacts on this point. But the solutions developed by City Move could be also easily applied for transportation of people, extending to them all expected benefits (less emission, less noise, more safety, etc.).

3) Reduction of CO2, pollutant emissions and noise at least in compliance with EU legislation.

The emission of CO2 is correlated with the overall efficiency of the delivery process and the energy efficiency of the vehicle. The optimisation of the logistic process is not covered by the CITY MOVE project (the City Log project is focused on this, looking at the overall delivery systems in urban areas).

CITY MOVE not only reduces emission from the powertrain vehicle (e.g. by using a hybrid driveline) but looks also contributes to reduction of pollution during the production phase, considering recyclable materials.

Innovative solutions are investigated to reduce the external noise.

4) Increased energy efficiency in urban transport and improved transport safety.

These are two main drivers for CITY MOVE.

Energy efficiency is mainly addressed with :

• Hybrid/electric driveline
• Electric powered auxiliaries
• Smart energy management

Safety is also one of the aspect well covered by the project, either to protect the vehicle (anti rollover system) and vulnerable road users (active/passive systems).

5) neutral impact on climate change

It is clear that CITY MOVE contributes to reduce the impact on climate change, through a strong reduction of the fuel consumption.

Moreover and in particular, CITY MOVE has addressed the main following operational objectives:

 Increase accessibility in the urban environment
 Reduce emissions (air and noise)
 Increase safety condition (for drivers and citizens)
 Enhance air quality
 Reduce congestion levels
 Manage freight movements
 Stimulate economic development
 Reduce goods vehicles journey times and number of goods vehicles circulating in urban environment
 Reduce energy consumption
 Stimulate new framework for research
 Increase the city attractiveness

Dissemination

The dissemination activities tackled by the consortium during the project duration have followed the main initial plan envisioned in the first phase of the project.

The CITY MOVE objectives and results have been presented at a large number of international conferences and during the dedicated workshops organized with different stakeholders.

In December 2012 a joint final CITY MOVE-CityLog event has been organized, where the main project results have been presented at more than 60 participants, representing different stakeholders and including the press attendance.

During the final event, the participants had the opportunity to test in some use cases and scenarios the 3 CITY MOVE prototype vehicles realized during the project activities.

The final event has been closed by a final round table on the CityLog and CITY MOVE addressed topics.

Regarding the exploitation plan, potential exploitable results (the relevant ones reported in the following table) have been identified, mainly by the industrial partners, for their possible deployment in a short-medium term perspective.

The CITY MOVE industrial approach enables and can speed up the application of the achieved results to the market product in few years after the end of the project.

List of Websites:

Public website: www.citymoveproject.eu

Relevant contact details

Project coordinator:

Maurizio Miglietta
Centro Ricerche Fiat S.C.p.A.
Strada Torino, 50 – 10043 Orbassano (TO) Italy
Tel: +39 011 9083060
Fax: +39 011 9083083
maurizio.miglietta@crf.it