Logistics

Mobility2Grid Research Campus - Efficient and Networked Systems for the Climate-Neutral City

With the Mobility2Grid research campus, a broad-based public-private partnership for innovations to realise the energy transition and electromobility in networked urban areas was created back in 2011. The mission statement of the second funding phase of the Mobility2Grid (M2G) research campus, which will start in 2022, is "Mobility2Grid - Efficient and networked systems for the climate-neutral city" and researches the transformation of mobility and the transport system, taking into account the energy system, the development of feasible concepts for low-CO2 transport and a low-air-pollution and low-noise city. M2G achieves knowledge gain through application-oriented research, concrete application examples and research into the scalability of the integrated transformation solutions developed in M2G.

The EUREF campus in Berlin serves as a test and reference neighbourhood to describe the key values of a decentralised supply economy for sustainable urban development. Based on the findings of the first funding phase, the research project in the second funding phase will focus on five interacting work packages 1-5 (WP1 Grid integration, WP2 Automated driving and charging, WP3 Electrification of fleets and depots, WP4 Neo-mobility: climate-neutral, efficient, networked, WP5 Transfer areas), each of which has an independent scientific thrust. The relevant cross-cutting issues are dealt with in work packages 6-8 (WP6 Participation and Acceptance, WP7 Internal Monitoring and Innovative Management Processes, WP8 Knowledge Transfer and Recommendations for Action).

The companies, universities and research institutions that are part of the Mobility2Grid research campus will continue to research and work together on the central issues of the energy transition and on innovative mobility solutions in the long term - beyond the second main phase applied for here.

Project content and objectives at the chair of logistics

Automated driving and charging: Urban logistics

Objectives

Analysis and demonstration of electric logistics transport with charging power in the megawatt range; investigation of autonomous transport in logistics centres and analysis of the influence of AI-supported simulation methods in the planning and integration of the aforementioned concepts.

Work description

In this AP, options are shown on how autonomous vehicles and charging processes can be integrated into existing logistics processes. The logistics traffic between a suburban supplier logistics centre (SLC) of BLG and a production facility of Siemens serves as a use case. The aim is to electrify the shuttle traffic and demonstrate its feasibility in continuous operation. For this purpose, at least one fast-charging truck and one charging station with a charging capacity in the megawatt range will be procured and tested in the overall system. The knowledge gained will be used to develop an intelligent yard management system that optimally distributes waiting, handling and battery charging times among the commercial vehicles. In order to best integrate the use of electrified tractors into the logistical processes, various influencing factors are evaluated using artificial intelligence methods and analysed with regard to their relevance for an optimal operational process. The research focus is a theoretical integration of traction vehicles with different autonomy into the processes of the SLC and an evaluation of the overall system with regard to economic, ecological and logistical key figures.

Electrification of fleets and depots: Multifunctional commercial and mobility hubs

Objectives

Determination of the suitability of different energy supply technologies for different electrified fleet types; development of standardised, modularised and automated energy supply solutions for electromobility; investigation of the effects of new drive technologies on logistical processes; recommendations for action for the establishment and operation of multifunctional commercial and mobility hubs.

Work description

The connection of different energy supply technologies for electric mobility at one location to a multifunctional mobility hub is investigated in this work package from the perspective of fleets. Examples of fleets operating in the city include car, public transport, commercial vehicle and logistics fleets. Networking of actors in fleet operation will enable more efficient use of infrastructures in the climate-neutral city. Studies will be carried out comparing mobility profiles and energy supply technologies. Methods will be developed to determine the energy demand, flexibility potentials as well as the area for the mobility hub based on the fleet composition. The possibilities and limits of the approach of a multifunctional mobility hub will be shown. The logistical processes are influenced by the new drive technologies. It will be evaluated to what extent new processes and process times can be considered and integrated in logistic management systems (e.g. TMS). The investigation will include the cooperation at the mobility hub with process-related procedures and technological feasibility. A fuel cell truck will be provided for the practical testing of the hydrogen filling station. To enable the testing of the filling station, processes for refuelling and billing will be defined. Based on the results of the WP, recommendations for action will be derived for the city and its stakeholders.

Project organization

Project sponsor:

Collaborative partners in work packages with involvement of the Chair of Logistics:

Associated partner city logistics:

Project duration:

01.03.2022 - 31.03.2026

Further information:

Contact

M.Sc.

Lars Tasche

Research Associate

tasche@logistik.tu-berlin.de

Organization name Chair of Logistics
Building Hauptgebäude (H)
Room H 9179
Address Straße des 17. Juni 135
10623 Berlin
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