Circular Electrification Solutions for Decarbonized Freight Transport

Commercial road freight transport vehicles account for approximately 2% of all vehicles on the road in the EU but are the source of more than 23% of the greenhouse gases in the transport sector. A transition that decarbonizes the sector through electrification will be crucial in coming years to reach the national climate target set by the government, cutting CO2 emissions from the heavy haulage industry by 70% until 2030 and towards reaching net-zero by 2045. So far, the demonstration projects focus on developing single technological solution to enable a drive-train substitution from fossil fuels to batteries. There is a lack of research that takes on a system perspective to explore how the introduction of circular practices can contribute to solving economic, societal, organizational, technological, and political uncertainties of such sector-wide transition. This project studies the opportunities of a variety of circular electrification solutions e.g., the use of on-site electricity generation from photovoltaic panels in combination with second-life energy storage to charge vehicles on autonomous charging platforms or the conversion of existing internal combustion engine trucks to battery powered vehicles (BEV). The project consortium consists of a university (ORU), a transport group (Närkefrakt), a charging ecosystem technology provider (EVIAS), a BEV producer (Rearq) and a local policy maker (Region Örebro Län).

To collaboratively built knowledge on how to accelerate the transition of road freight transport, the project seeks to answer the main research question: How can charging technology, novel business models & shared financing approaches be combined to form resource- and cost-effective circular solutions that contribute to accelerated electrification of freight transport? The project focuses on three key areas: (1) business & financing, including the development of business models and incentives for implementing the circular charging ecosystem; (2) technological interoperability of the proposed solutions, requirements and safety regulations; and (3) business practices & potential behavior changes to the day-to-day business of the transport providers.

The project is following the transition design approach as a main scientific framework. Backcasting workshops to gain an understanding of each stakeholders’ perspectives on the ongoing transition and co-create visions about a future sustainable road freight system serve as a main data gathering method.

The project contributes to ongoing debate on achieving a fossil-free freight transport future in Sweden by exploring the circularity potential of the sector as means to overcome the interconnected uncertainties of transport operators around electrification. Furthermore, it also addresses existing gaps in scientific literature by identifying the potential of novel business models, collaborative actor-centered design, and planning processes to accelerate ongoing low-carbon transitions.