Greening Corridors: towards the sustainable transport of goods

Making transportation more sustainable

Goods transport corridors, i.e. the key railways, waterways and roads used to transport goods, are vital to the Dutch economy. These corridors efficiently and reliably connect Dutch businesses to clients and suppliers in the Netherlands and abroad. Examples are the corridor connecting the Randstad conurbation to the Ruhr region, which runs via the A15 motorway (road transport) or the Waal and Rhine rivers (inland shipping). Optimal use of these corridors, such as by loading ships and lorries to maximum capacity whenever possible, contributes to a more sustainable transport system.

Predicting the demand for electricity

In the SPRONG research group Greening Corridors, AUAS works together with four other universities of applied sciences and the Institute for Safety to explore ways to increase the sustainability of existing goods transport corridors and to develop new sustainable corridors. This entails three key themes:

1. better utilisation of the capacity of both infrastructure and means of transport.
2. clean, safe and autonomous modalities. Researchers at AUAS are working on this theme.
3. digitalisation of the chain to achieve greater efficiency and prevent human error.

We are developing a model to predict how much power an industrial park will need if all lorries on the premises are swapped for electric vehicles. We want to get a better picture of the peak loads that will ensue if every lorry on the premises is plugged in for charging at the same time. If peak loads are too high, it can cause a power failure.

Sander Onstein

Project leader and researcher

The Amsterdam-based researchers apply a bottom-up approach in their sub-project. They are visiting two industrial parks (WFO in Zwaagdijk and Schiphol Trade Park) in person to find out exactly how many lorries stop at the sites.

Preventing peak loads

Businesses and industrial estates can use the model to estimate the real-world development of the demand for electricity at their sites. Based on this, they can request a higher-capacity connection from the grid operator before peak loads occur. They can also take advance measures to prevent peak loads, such as by having some lorries charge faster than others. Power shortages are expected to become an issue at industrial estates in the coming years, as many businesses currently have a 3x80 ampere connection, which can charge no more than five lorries at a time, whereas the average industrial estate can easily have fifty or more lorries driving around.

Education

In 2022, three groups of students in the Future Proof Airport Seaport Logistics (FPASL) minor counted lorries for the project. While the data collection phase is now complete, there are still plenty of opportunities for internships and final projects with the various project partners. Afterwards, the insights gained from Greening Corridors will be incorporated into the education provided to students.

Team

• Sander Onstein (project leader)(opens in new window)
• Dick van Damme

Partners

Greening Corridors is a SPRONG recipient. Greening Corridors has a core group of five partners: Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences (coordinator), HZ University of Applied Sciences, HAN University of Applied Sciences, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Fontys University of Applied Sciences (department of Technology and Logistics) and the Institute for Safety. An additional 26 stakeholders are affiliated with the project, including universities, government bodies and sector organisations. The project partners exchange knowledge with one another, including via Living Labs and learning communities.