Figure: phases of the deployment of the recharging points infrastructure
One of the main challenges currently facied by the road freight sector is the reduction of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, while one of the strategies to address it comes from technological advances in alternative energies, such as electric power and compressed natural gas.
Though these solutions are technically feasible, they often face practical implementation problems. One of the most relevant is the lack of supply infrastructure.
The objective of CENIT’s current study on sustainable freight vehicle charging was to identify the number and appropriate location of recharging points in Catalan territory needed for electric, gas and hydrogen powered goods vehicles and how these should be introduced over time.
The study includes an assessment of the current state of alternative technologies to fuel oil and the current state of recharging points. Then, as an operational premise in the calculation of recharging points, an origin-destination sub-matrix of heavy vehicles is constructed by selecting the roads to be analysed.
Finally, a mathematical optimization model is constructed and the locations of the recharging points are obtained according to the proposed time scenarios.
The final conclusions were:
- The first phase consists of the immediate deployment of the critical infrastructure that equips the main transport corridors of heavy vehicles in Catalunya.
In total, 19 new electro-power stations (15 reusing gas stations and 4 new electro-power stations) and 2 hydrogen stations are proposed. In relation to the gas stations, it has been found that the current network is sufficient to ensure the autonomy of any vehicle. - Regarding deployment in the second phase, which is the densification phase, a minimum network is proposed to access the entire Catalan territory.
In total, the installation of 16 new electric stations and 2 new hydrogen stations is proposed. With regard to gas stations, phase II implementation seeks to adapt the current supply points to ensure the supply of more sustainable fuels, such as biogas.
As for the deployment costs of the recharging networks, they have been estimated according to the implementation phases:
- In relation to the electro-power stations, the total operation ranges from 34,510,000€ to 40,340,000€.
- As for the hydrogen stations, the total cost of the installation of the recharging points alone amounts to 12,000,000€ (6€ million in each phase).
