CONVENIENT - Complete Vehicle Energy-saving Technologies for Heavy-Trucks
Overview
Objectives:
The CONVENIENT project targets a 30% reduction of fuel consumption in vehicles for long-distance freight transport by developing an innovative heavy-truck archetype featuring a suite of innovative energy-saving technologies and solutions. From the customer viewpoint, fuel efficiency is top priority because of its significant impact in terms of cost (in the EU, fuel represents about 30% of the Total Operating Costs for a 40-ton tractor-semitrailer combination).
Methodology:
Responding to this challenge, the goal of CONVENIENT is to achieve complete vehicle energy management by proposing highly innovative solutions for improved efficiency and enhanced integration of components (currently designed independently) which will be developed, integrated and evaluated directly on validator vehicles, including:
- Innovative energy efficient systems, including hybrid transmission, electrified auxiliaries, dual level cooling, parking HVAC
- Energy harvesting devices, like photovoltaic solar roof for truck and semitrailer;
- Advanced active and passive aerodynamics devices for the truck and for the semitrailer:
- An Holistic Energy Management system at vehicle level;
- A Predictive Driver Support to maximize the energy saving benefits.
- A novel Hybrid Kinetic Energy Recovery System for the semitrailer.
The most relevant and novel aspect of CONVENIENT is represented by the holistic approach to on-board energy management, considering the tractor, semi-trailer, driver and the mission as a whole.
The CONVENIENT Consortium, comprises three major EU truck manufacturers, ten Tier 1/2 suppliers, and a network of nine research centres and Universities, representing European excellence in the field of long distance transport R&D.
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