Clean and Silent Night Deliveries

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4 min to read

About the city. The city of Stockholm is currently conducting a pilot project on night deliveries in partnership with cargo owners, educational institutions and transport companies. The two vehicles used in the test are a hybrid truck that runs on electricity and diesel, and a truck that uses biogas fuel. To collect good data from the pilot project, the City (as part of the ECCENTRIC project) will expand the project with one truck powered by an electric transmission

Goal

The aim of the project is to provide the city with cleaner and more efficient freight deliveries, less congestion and improved traffic safety.

Implementation period. A pilot study to test silent overnight deliveries has been launched in 2019

Fact

There is a ban on heavy lorries in the inner city of Stockholm between 22:00 and 06:00.

Solutions

Deliveries using silent electric vehicles are a collaboration between Stockholm, HAVI, KTH, EU, McDonald’s and Scania. The initiative takes place within the framework of the EU project “eccentric city”.

The test uses a chargeable hybrid truck from Scania that runs on a combination of electricity and fossil fuels (a type of biodiesel called HVO), which reduces particle and carbon dioxide emissions.

The plug-in hybrid truck is also connected and equipped with geofencing technology: it adapts to traffic conditions in a given area. These virtual driving zones can determine which engine a vehicle will use and adapt its speed to actual speed limits, providing excellent opportunities to reduce emissions, noise, and other distractions in city centres.

The hybrid truck can drive up to 10 kilometres in silent electric mode and efficiently deliver goods through almost empty streets at night. The consortium behind this project will explore how much environmental benefit can be obtained by not having trucks in queues on the roads and always having good accessibility.

The battery is charged from external power sources and through regeneration, which means that the truck’s movement turns to electricity every time the brakes are used.

Challenges

Only main streets used (not as quiet and sensitive), legal ban for night transport demanded a permit which provides an incentive for the investment in more sustainable vehicles.