Simulation-based Investigation of Decarbonization Strategies for Urban Freight Transport

Kurzfassung

This thesis examines the decarbonization of urban road freight transport. Based on case studies, the conversion of the vehicle fleet from conventional (Internal Combustion Engine Vehicle (ICEV)) to Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) is examined using the agent-based traffic simulation software MATSim . The investigations are carried out from the perspective of the transport companies as economic agents and the companies each carry out route planning with the available vehicle fleet. The objective function of the route planning algorithm is to minimize the total costs, which include costs for the vehicles, the distance traveled and the time taken as well as any additional costs (e.g., tolls). For the central investigations in this thesis, the already existing scenario of Schröder and Liedtke (2014) for the delivery of food markets in Berlin is further developed and used. The thesis consists of three parts: The first part of the work presents the basics, methods, the software used, and the scenarios used in the various studies. The second part of the thesis deals with the direct conversion of the existing vehicle fleet from ICEVs to BEVs. The logistics network of the carriers remains unchanged. Customers (supermarkets) will therefore continue to be supplied directly from the depot. One study assumes that the carriers now only have BEVs at their disposal. The limited range of the BEVs is considered in an ex-post analysis. Another study deals with the transformation phase from fossil to battery-electric powered vehicle fleets. The carriers have both ICEVs and BEVs. The effects of different levels of CO2 taxes on the fleet composition, in particular on the proportion of ICEVs to BEVs, are investigated. The range limitation of BEVs is already included in the route planning. In the third part of the thesis, a change in the logistics network is also considered. The transportation problem is now shifted one level further up: As a higher-level unit, there is the Logistics Service Provider (LSP), which maintains other resources, such as hubs for goods handling, in addition to the transporters. The LSP has several options to choose from: i) direct delivery, as before, or ii) the use of a two-stage network with the main leg from the depot to the hub, transshipment in the hub and delivery from the hub to the customer. This enables completely new, more extensive investigations into the effects of local entry bans for, e.g., a) ICEVs or b) all large vehicles regardless of their engine technology. In addition to the respective costs and fleet compositions, the various studies also evaluate traffic effects such as the number of kilometers driven. The consideration of global CO2 reductions is based on a Well-to-Wheel (W2W) analysis. In addition to the values from the energy conversion in the vehicle, this also includes the determination of all direct and indirect CO2 emissions over the entire path to the provision of the energy source. In summary, this work helps to show, 1) to what extent a direct conversion of the vehicle fleet to BEVs is already possible today; 2) the extent to which political framework conditions, such as a CO2 tax, support this; 3) further measures such as bans on certain types of vehicles entering city center areas have an impact on the logistics network and what role the concept of city hubs plays in the successful implementation of such measures.