Objective of yDrive
Conventional road transport can save up to 20 per cent in fuel in practice if it starts using semi-trailers with electric drive.
A consortium of six organisations is therefore joining forces to develop an electric powertrain for semi-trailers used in road freight transport.
Under the name yDrive, the parties intend to develop a drive technology to further reduce fuel consumption and contribute to reducing CO2 and harmful emissions.
Road freight transport is undergoing a transition to zero-emission transport. To this end, the truck industry is fully committed to electrifying its fleet. This is essential to ensure that emissions are reduced and climate targets are met.
In addition to electrifying lorries, consideration is also being given to how conventional road transport using diesel lorries can operate in an even cleaner and more economical manner. This is essential during the transition period.
Project approach
The yDrive project focuses on electrifying a conventional semi-trailer.
yDrive bestaat uit een elektrisch aangedreven as, een oplaadbare accupakket, kingpinsensor en een slimme controller die zowel met als zonder communicatie met de vrachtwagen functioneert.
This technology creates a hybrid combination whereby braking energy is regenerated during deceleration and downhill driving and stored in a battery in the semi-trailer.
During acceleration, energy from the battery is used to power the trailer. This assists the lorry in getting moving and reduces fuel consumption. As a result, the lorry can be equipped with a smaller engine. yDrive can also serve as a range extender for BEV or FCEV lorries.
Photo: the consortium partners sign the contract
Contact V-tron:
Expected results:
The technology has great potential for savings.
The project aims to achieve a 20% reduction in CO2 and fuel consumption in urban distribution, 15% in regional distribution and 10% in long-distance transport.
Every year, an average of 12,500 new semi-trailers are registered in the Netherlands and more than 200,000 in Europe. The total fleet in Europe is even larger than 3 million semi-trailers.
Road freight transport is responsible for approximately 9% of global CO2 emissions.
Challenges
If the entire fleet were to be equipped with yDrive, more than 1% of total CO2 emissions could be reduced with a product that should pay for itself within the economic life of the semi-trailer.
Project partners:
Project yDrive is made possible in part by the province of Flevoland and the DKTI-Transport scheme of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. The DKTI is a scheme designed to promote the sustainability of road transport.
