Imagine if delivery vans were like Swiss Army knives, perfectly shaped for the specific job they do instead of being one-size-fits-all. This work creates electric vans tailored for things like cold food or online shopping returns to stop wasting space and energy. It's about matching the vehicle's size and features exactly to the delivery route to make city shipping cleaner and cheaper.
Urban logistics is inefficient because delivery vans are often the wrong size for their specific mission, leading to high costs and emissions. In 2023, diesel vehicles still dominated the LCV market, showing a failure of current electric options to meet specific user needs.
Six tailored N1 electric vehicle concepts featuring modular cargo bodies, optimized braking/tyre strategies, and dual-purpose passenger-freight configurations.
If you are a delivery provider dealing with inefficient route volumes and high emissions — this project developed 6 novel N1 concepts that provide a tighter market fit for e-commerce and returns. This reduces wasted space and operational costs in urban areas.
If you are a food distributor dealing with the high energy cost of cooling in city traffic — this project developed mission-focused eLCVs specifically for cold deliveries. This ensures the vehicle is right-sized for the cargo, lowering energy waste.
If you are a fleet operator dealing with the need to move both people and packages — this project developed dual transport concepts for people and freight. This allows one vehicle to perform two roles, increasing asset utilization.
The project aims to reduce operational costs by using right-sized, mission-focused vehicles and optimized control strategies for tyres and brakes. Based on available project data, the goal is to overcome barriers for the adoption of eLCVs in scalable operations.
The project is moving toward scale by prototyping and testing in 6 real-life pilot sites across BE, GR, IT, NO, and PL. It involves 15 industry partners to ensure the route to market is viable.
Based on available project data, specific licensing terms are not listed, but the consortium includes a mix of OEMs like IVECO and Alke alongside 30 partners to co-develop the concepts.
The project focuses on meeting EU climate targets and urban logistics needs, specifically targeting the gap where 1.2M new LCVs were still diesel-powered in 2023.
The project runs from 2025-01-01 to 2028-06-30, with physical prototypes being tested in real-life operations during this period.
The consortium is heavily industry-weighted with 50% industry participation (15 partners), including major OEMs and 5 Logistics Service Providers (LSPs) like DHL and InPost. With 30 partners across 11 countries, the group balances high-volume manufacturing capabilities with real-world operational data from mobility operators, ensuring the resulting vehicles are commercially viable rather than just academic exercises.
Contact Fundacio Eurecat in Spain for partnership inquiries.
Contact us to connect with the Shift2Zero consortium for pilot opportunities.
