What is CLOSER doing in terms of energy-efficient & fossil-free freight transport?
Together with our partners, CLOSER works to accelerate the development of, and the transition to energy-efficient and fossil-free freight transport. We do this by carrying out projects in collaboration with those of you operating in the business world, academic institutions, citys or regions.
Within this focus area, we at CLOSER are particularly focused on freight transport by road as this accounts for the largest share of energy consumption for transport in Sweden.
Here we test how new technology, new business models, regulations and new ways of working can lead to achieving a fossil-free freight transport system in Sweden by 2045.
What is CLOSER focusing on for each mode of transport?
Would you like to know what we do in the field of road transport together with our partners?
In order to reduce climate emissions and speed up the transition to a climate-neutral transport system, CLOSER works on several projects to showcase solutions using new ideas and new technology together with our partners.
Heavy and light commercial vehicles account for approximately a third of climate emissions from road transport (Swedish Transport Administration, 2021). Heavy road traffic work has increased in recent years, but climate emissions from heavy traffic fell by about 25 per cent between 2010 and 2017 in spite of this. However, this positive trend, which was largely due to the increased use of biofuels, has slowed down in recent years. In order to once again achieve a positive trend with reduced climate emissions and speed up the transition, CLOSER runs a number of innovation projects to demonstrate system solutions that use new technology in collaboration with our partners. Together with you, we also explore new ways of working and formulate how the systems will be designed in the future. An important objective in this area is to review how regulations and policies should be designed in order for us to achieve Sweden's set objectives for energy-efficient and fossil-free road transport by 2045.
Here you can read about some of our projects
DenCity 3
Electric trucks and Intermodality
REEL
Western Sweden's arena for liquid biogas
Would you like to learn more about what we do in the field of rail transport together with our partners?
Propulsion system for the last mile
Innovative and energy-efficient propulsion concepts are being developed and evaluated for the last mile for freight locomotives. These propulsion systems are based on batteries, hydrogen or diesel. This enables locomotives to drive the entire distance, in cases where the track is not electrified for the first/last mile. It also results in reduced emissions and cuts down on the need for special locomotives and expensive electrification. Hybrid locomotives also make the system less vulnerable, as trains become less sensitive to disturbances on the main line.
How do we work on this together with our partners?
Freight locomotive of the future
This work takes an integrated approach to the entire locomotive. It examines how the locomotives of the future should be designed in order to be compatible with new technologies such as ERTMS and distributed traction.
The aim of these new technologies is to increase the flexibility of the locomotive and reduce operating costs affected by energy costs.
How do we work on this together with our partners?
Hybridisation of existing shunting locomotives
Many of the old shunting locomotives are currently operating in marshalling yards. In order to utilise existing capacity in the best possible way, ways of how these locomotives can be updated to reduce CO2 emissions are explored. This is done by evaluating and testing alternative sustainable powertrains as a supplement to conventional diesel operation.
How do we work on this together with our partners?
Would you like to know what we do in the field of maritime transport together with our partners?
Would you like to know what we do in the field of maritime transport together with our partners?
Maritime transport is, and has been, one of the most energy-efficient ways of transporting goods in terms of the volume that maritime transport handles each year and in relation to its total emissions. But as land-based transport alternatives and the rest of society switch to fossil-free operation, the IMO predicts that maritime transport could become one of the largest sources of environmentally and climate-hazardous emissions by the middle of the century unless we begin to use new technologies for fossil-free operation on a larger scale.
Maritime transport is global and is influenced and dependent on international cooperation to find suitable alternatives for reducing its impact on the climate. At CLOSER, we realise that by supporting our partners in creating Swedish and international demonstrations where new solutions are tested. Through this Sweden can become a pioneer in terms of speeding up the transition to fossil-independent, European and global maritime transport.
There are a number of different solutions that are currently being developed, tested and evaluated, some are also used in operation to reduce the climate and environmental impact of maritime transport:
- Use fossil-free fuels or fossil fuels with a percentage of low carbon dioxide fuel, e.g. liquefied natural gas or biogas (LNG/bio-LNG), methanol, HVO and electrofuels (made from water and CO2 by means of electricity)
- Increase the use of sails, kites, solar panels on board and increase energy efficiency
- Use energy carriers without carbon dioxide or with carbon capture on board, e.g. hydrogen, ammonia and batteries
You can read about this project here
Safe hydrogen installation
What are Sweden's goals in terms of energy supply to the transport sector?
Sweden aims to become one of the world's first fossil-free welfare states. The goal is to have zero emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere by 2045. The transport industry contributes to one third of Sweden's total emissions from greenhouse gases, with freight transport accounting for about one third. The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from freight transport is therefore important for achieving the set climate goals. Sweden has also formulated an interim target stipulating that greenhouse gases for domestic transport operations - excluding air travel - shall be reduced by 70% by 2030 compared to 2010.
Although greenhouse gas emissions for domestic freight transport have decreased by about 20% between 2010 and 2018, this is still less than the reduction that would have been needed to succeed in achieving the goal for 2030. The development of greenhouse gas emissions has, however, been variable between the different modes of transport. Heavy lorries, the rail network and light lorries have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 29%, 21% and 11% respectively between 2010 and 2018, which means that heavy lorries are the only mode of transport that has reduced greenhouse gas emissions at a rate that is in line with the goal for 2030. Domestic maritime transport has, on the other hand, increased its greenhouse gas emissions by 9%.
What is CLOSER doing to meet the SDGs included in the 2030 Agenda?
CLOSER's work within the focus area of Energy Supply primarily addresses Goal 7 in Agenda 2030: Sustainable energy for everyone. The collaborations and solutions that are developed, tested, and evaluated within the partnership's projects mainly concern the following sub-goals:
CLOSER starts and runs projects that strive to find solutions that increase the share of renewable energy for the freight transport system.
CLOSER develops and tests new solutions that are more efficient than today and thus reduce the energy consumption of the transport system.
CLOSER works to strengthen collaborations between different actors to facilitate access to research and technology in clean energy, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and advanced and cleaner fossil fuel-based technology.
Want to know more about how CLOSER works with energy supply?
