NOW GmbH and the ifeu – Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg (Institut für Energie- und Umweltforschung Heidelberg) have established a cooperation for the further development of the ‘My eRoads’ online consultation tool. The free-of-charge tool helps companies to select suitable commercial battery and fuel cell vehicle models for their specific application. For NOW, ifeu has now prepared three typical application scenarios using the tool – the results and data sets are now available for download (in German language) at: www.klimafreundliche-nutzfahrzeuge.de/wissen/tools/.
Switching to a new drive technology raises many questions: Which vehicle models are available and what vehicle is suitable for my application? What costs will I incur and how much CO2 will I actually save in the long term? From what mileage will my vehicle start to pay for itself? My eRoads helps with an initial assessment of which vehicle and what model would suit a particular application profile.
What ist he tool capable of?
My eRoads collects various parameters from the day-to-day operations of a company looking to deploy climate-friendly commercial vehicles. These include the intended use (e.g. configuration, range, payload, etc.) as well as the average daily kilometres and idle times. All these parameters can be customised. The tool then selects suitable models from the vehicles currently available on the market and provides a corresponding list. Purchase prices and running costs for vehicles and infrastructure are also taken into account and transparently displayed.
The tool can also incorporate any possible funding support schemes along with any exemptions from the truck toll into the cost analysis, so that all factors that influence the purchase decision can be displayed. It also shows the potential savings in CO2 emissions. The databases that support the vehicle models and regulatory framework conditions are continuously updated by the ifeu Institute.
Three cases as examples
In cooperation with NOW GmbH, the ifeu Institute has created three common application scenarios (distribution transport, refrigerated transport, long-distance transport) as examples in order to provide an introduction to the tool’s functionality. In addition to a detailed explanation of the assumptions made and how the calculations were performed, a data set is also available for download in each case, which can be loaded directly into the My eRoads tool by prospective users.
The My eRoads tool is free of charge, manufacturer-neutral and can be used without registration. It was developed as part of a research project funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK – Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz), together with partners from the logistics sector.
