Enhancing fuel efficiency in heavy trucks

The truck manufacturing industry is under mounting pressure to improve fuel efficiency. What is more, the price of fuel for heavy-duty long-haul trucks is driving up costs considerably, putting manufacturers at risk.

To date, strategies have focused on the fuel efficiency of individual components of heavy vehicles. To achieve maximum energy efficiency, recent studies show that a strategy is needed for complete vehicle energy management. Mechanical, thermal, electric and chemical energy areas must be examined together and not independently.

To help achieve this, the EU-funded 'Complete vehicle energy-saving technologies for heavy-trucks' (CONVENIENT) project has adopted a holistic approach to fuel efficiency.

The consortium believes that the efficiency of HDVs can be enhanced by operating on both the tractor and the semi-trailer. Approximately two thirds of the energy included in the fuel is changed into heat, which is wasted. In the EU, the fuel of a 40-tonne tractor–semi-trailer combination accounts for about 30 % of its total operating costs.

Researchers are exploring a full complement of management solutions to demonstrate and validate sustainable fuel-saving technologies for the three prototype HDVs that have been designed for this purpose. It is expected that the final heavy-truck demonstrator vehicle will achieve a 30 % reduction in fuel consumption based on the innovative technologies developed for and integrated into the two trucks and the semi-trailer.

These solutions include pioneering energy-efficient systems and energy-harvesting devices, cutting-edge active and passive aerodynamics devices on the prototypes, an energy management system at vehicle level, and a driver support system to maximise the benefits of energy-saving devices.

The European Commission has stated that without policy action, total HDV emissions will still be close to current levels in 2030 and 2050. The state-of-the-art technologies and solutions being developed by CONVENIENT offer hope in achieving cost-effective reductions in CO2 emissions.