ELEVATE - Electric Vehicles for Advanced Transportation Efficiency

Background, problem, and current situation

Construction transports in Sweden account for about 10-15% of the entire transport sector’s emissions. Electrifying such transports reduces emissions on an overall level, but there is a lack of knowledge on how to plan and implement this from a system perspective, as today’s planning tools optimize for a diesel-driven world. A fully or partially electrified vehicle fleet gives rise to new planning problems, an area that has not been sufficiently studied before. With relatively short distances and low speeds, construction transports are suitable for electrification. 

However, the construction logistics system is complex with many different actors influencing the planning and execution of transports, and a high degree of coordination is necessary to achieve change. Additionally, the construction industry is characterized by a low degree of digitization and information sharing, resulting in a lack of data to plan for high utilization of vehicles and machinery.

Purpose and goals of the project

ELEVATE is a preliminary study focusing on developing methods to create conditions for a high degree of electrification in the construction transport system at an overarching system level through improved transport and resource efficiency. Within ELEVATE, an understanding of the entire studied system and its components will be created, i.e., what interacts and which actors have systems that need to be integrated, as their interrelations affect the utilization of vehicles, charging infrastructure, and project productivity. 

Furthermore, the project will study new planning models that can be translated into digital planning tools that in the future can contribute to high resource utilization of electrified construction transports. New connected tools enable information sharing and thus the ability to reduce congestion and traffic jams that would otherwise be caused by transports linked to the construction industry. 

The project thus contributes to creating conditions for the development of:

• a connected, shared, and automated planning tool for electrified construction transports,
• digital services that enable efficient use of infrastructure, and
• models and analysis methods for new transport solutions in the construction sector.

Method

The project will be based on an iterative process divided into six different steps: mapping, identification, verification, mathematical modeling of planning problems, analysis, and evaluation. During the project, workshops will be organized with the project’s partners, complemented by interviews and a literature study.

How the results will be used

An important part of ELEVATE is to form a consortium with the actors who should be part of creating the planning and data-sharing support required at a system level. This will form the basis for a large-scale project to develop algorithms and methods to solve planning problems with a focus on system-level benefits and tests for integrating different systems between actors for automated data sharing that enables electrified construction transports.