RICARDO TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY FOR LONG-DISTANCE HEAVY TRANSPORT

Ricardo has announced it is working on a project to revolutionise long-distance heavy transport, with the aim of creating zero-emission, flexible vehicle platforms with modular powertrains serving the long-haul freight ecosystem.

The ZEFES programme is co-funded by the European Commission and brings together five truck and two trailer original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), suppliers, logistic operators and research partners to work towards accelerating the integration of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) for long-distance heavy transport. The focus will be on improving efficiencies, and mass production capabilities and demonstrating the use of the technologies in daily operations.

By 2025, the programme aims to deliver nine different vehicles running over one million kilometres across EU corridors in real daily operations, all guided and validated by a digital platform. Vehicles will carry over 40 tonnes across distances of up to 750km, to vigorously test electric vehicle (EV) and fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) trucks against real-world performance and to help understand infrastructure needs.

Ricardo is providing the digital simulation platform for the programme, allowing the modelling of a range of vehicle operations and technology over the routes, and validation of tests. This data will support the removal of ambiguity of long-term investment decisions for the fleet operators buying new technologies and the local governments making infrastructure decisions.