Supporting electric freight vehicles in Hamburg

Transcription

1 Supporting electric freight vehicles in Hamburg Tessa Taefi, Tobias Held, Jochen Kreutzfeldt Hamburg July 2014 Report written within the framework of Activity 7.4 of the Interreg IVB project E-Mobility NSR

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3 Preface Dear Reader, Electric vehicles, charged with renewable energy, reduce global and local air pollutant emissions. Fostering electro mobility is important to the German federal and local authorities in adhering to the EU climate limit values and goals of the German Energiewende. Urban commercial fleets offer a significant first market for electric vehicles, as highlighted in the electric mobility pilot regions. Especially in fleets performing road freight transport tasks, electric vehicles are technically suitable, as trips are often recurring and planned ahead. Thus, the scheduling of driving and charging electrical freight vehicles can be well planned. Also for companies who transport freight in urban areas, electric vehicles offer advantages: they decouple transport costs from any potential fuel price increase and can even result in new business opportunities through future regulatory privileges and the vehicle s sustainable image. Despite these potentials, only about one out of thousand commercial vehicles had a fully electric power-train in Germany on January 1st 2014, according to KBA statistics. Hybrid vehicles play an even smaller role. What actions can Hamburgs government take to support electric vehicles especially in urban freight transport? Which of the measures are most effective to increase the share of freight EVs? Is a financial involvement or are personnel resources necessary, and can the measures be integrated into the overall traffic planning? This report will attempt to provide answers to these questions, by combining expert interviews and case studies. The results are quite interesting since recommended actions go beyond discussing financial subsidies or free parking for EVs. To name a few examples: support structures for electric cargo cycles and appointing companies who offer emission free goods transport for municipal freight requests are beneficial and can be quickly integrated. When looked at over a longer period, electric trucks in city logistic structures are an option to be considered in pilot projects. The study was carried out on behalf of the EU Interreg IVB North Sea Region project North Sea Region Electric Mobility Network. Colleagues in the other countries of the North Sea region shared their ideas with respective reports for metropolitan regions in their countries. We would especially like to thank Prof. Dr. Christine Lacher for the important inputs she provided in the elaboration of this document. We hope this report can serve as a source of inspiration and ideas to enhance the promising efforts the city of Hamburg has already undertaken to foster electric mobility and increase the numbers of electric freight vehicles in Hamburgs - as well as in other cities. July 2014 Hamburg, Germany

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5 Contents List of figures III List of tables IV Executive Summary 1 1 Objective and structure Structure and methodology Definitions Analysis of Hamburg s freight traffic situation Flourishing Hamburg A focus on electro mobility The second most congested city Up to 36% commercial traffic Strongest freight traffic growth Main noise contributor: Road traffic Exceeding air pollutant limit values Carbon dioxide emissions Road safety Summary Required conditions for deploying electric freight vehicles Profitable strategies Examples of electric freight vehicles in Hamburg Electric freight vehicles in Germany and the North Sea region Interviews with freight transport companies Group 1 - Last mile delivery and transport on-own-account Group 2 - Crafts Group 3 - Waste management Actions to support deploying electric freight vehicles Methodology of rating actions Non-financial tools: Regulation Free and privileged parking or loading/unloading facilities Entry into pedestrian zones beyond delivery windows Usage of bus lanes Low emission zone Zero emission zone Drivers license Time or spatial limitations for loud heavy vehicles Financial tools Exemption from vehicle tax Purchase price subsidy Electric freight projects Exemption from city tolls Raising awareness Electric freight vehicles in municipal fleets and services Green transport label Information campaigns Infrastructure Quick charging infrastructure on company compounds Electric cargocycles Micro consolidation centers I

6 4.5.4 Electric vehicles repair and service workshop Summary of actions to increase the freight electric vehicles share in Hamburg Rating and suggested actions to increase the share of electric freight vehicles Recommended actions Actions to test in pilot projects Excluded measures Summary Bibliography 53 A Appendix 57 A.1 Available electric freight vehicles A.2 Amsterdam: Executive summary A.3 Copenhagen: Executive summary

7 List of Figures 1.1 Overview of the research process Number of commercial and hybrid EVs in Germany Segments of urban commercial traffic Hamburg in numbers Distribution of commercial vehicles per weight class in Hamburg Percentage of electric vehicles of licensed vehicle stock, Hamburg and Germany Exemplary average annual NO 2 imssions in Average share of NO x emissions by vehicle class in Hamburg CO 2 emissions of Hamburg s traffic 2010 in Megatons Identified concepts to improve profitability of freight EVs Distribution of freight EVs in Hamburg s companies by end Costs per ton payload of diesel, electrical and hybrid waste collection trucks Comparison of annual mileage to reach profitable operation compared to conventional vehicles Portfolio of rated actions to increase freight EVs share in Hamburg III

8 List of Tables 2.1 Comparison of the potential of freight EVs with Hamburg s administrative electro mobility focus Examples of freight electric vehicles in Hamburg, data from Dec Number of freight vehicles identified in freight EV case studies Profile of interviewed companies in group 1 - last mile delivery and transport on-ownaccount Measures to rank - group 1 Last mile delivery and transport on-own-account Ranking of preferences, group 1 Last Mile Delivery Additional supportive measures desired by electric vehicles users of group 1 last mile delivery and transport on-own-account Desired measures to support EVs - group 2 Crafts Profile of interviewed companies in group 2 - Crafts Measures to rank - group 2 Crafts Ranking of preferences, group 2 - Crafts Comparison of waste collection trucks Overview of expert rating of actions Ranking of recommendations Overview of ranking of actions A.1 Overview of available small and light electric freight vehicles A.2 Overview of available electric freight vans and trucks A.3 Conversion companies IV

9 Executive Summary The goal of this report is to summarize and prioritize which actions Hamburgs government could take, in order to increase the share of electric freight vehicles. This document is a result of the EU-Interreg Project North Sea Region Electric Mobility Network (E-mobility NSR). Two similar reports have been compiled by project partners for the cities of Copenhagen and Amsterdam, see their executive summaries in the appendix of this report. Trade, transport, and logistics once layed the foundation to Hamburgs wealth in medieval times. Today, transport continues to be an essential sector to the city: due to its favorable geographic position, Hamburg is the main hub for trade and traffic in Northern Europe (Löffler and Sye, 2010). Transport accounts for ten percent of the city s GDP, which is twice the German average (Sye, 2010). Until 2025, freight transport volume will nearly double, compared to 2004, while the population of 1.8 million today might increase by 25% by 2030, according to a high forecast by Konstantinos (2010, p. 8). These growth projections highlight the importance to achieve a more efficient and greener freight transport in the future, since the negative impacts of road freight traffic are an issue already today: Firstly, road traffic is the main reason why Hamburg exceeds the limit values for the yearly average of nitrogen dioxide immission (Böhm and Wahler, 2012). Although they only contribute to 6% of the licensed vehicle stock in Hamburg (Kraftfahrt- Bundesamt, 2014), freight vehicles over 3.5 tons account for 45% of traffics NO x emissions (Böhm and Wahler, 2012). Electric freight vehicles are free of tailpipe emissions such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter. Hence, raising the share of freight EVs would have a positive impact on Hamburgs air quality. Secondly, road traffic is the main source of noise pollution (Ohm et al., 2012), which affects about a third of Hamburgs population (Umweltbundesamt, 2013a). Heavy freight EVs are more silent during operation up to a speed of 50 km/h - meaning practically the entire Hamburg city area (Umweltbundesamt, 2013a, 59). Also smaller delivery vans and smaller transporters that need to brake and accelerate often in the city would profit from an electric power-train with regards to noise reduction (Umweltbundesamt, 2013a, 59). Thus, a higher share of freight EVs could reduce the noise emissions of freight traffic. Thirdly, Hamburg is the second most congested city in Germany, and the 9th most congested in Europe (TomTom, 2013). While replacing a conventional truck by its electrical sibling would not reduce the congestion, new delivery concepts emerging due to the new EV technology possibly could have a positive impact. On the one hand, small, light EVs such as electric quads, scooters and cargobikes need less space for on the road and for parking. On the other hand, freight EVs are a door opener to discuss modern logistics concepts, such as night time delivery or freight bundling. In order to reduce the negative impact of traffic, Hamburg is already a strong supporter of electric mobility and has initiated various projects for private, public and commercial transport. The German vehicle statistics testify to the positive impact of these projects on the portion of EVs within the licensed vehicle stock: Hamburg has twice as many EVs among passenger cars and twice as many among light commercial vehicles than the German average (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt, 2013a). However, Hamburgs EV projects so far only support electric passenger vehicles up to 2.3 tons, although in Hamburg - similar to other cities in the North Sea region - the majority of freight is transported with two different types of electric vehicles: Either with small, slow EVs (electric cargo bikes, quads or scooters), or with freight EVs between 3 and 7.45 tons. How can these types of freight EVs be supported by Hamburgs government? Possible approaches were derived from two sources: Firstly, interviews with 23 companies which transport freight in Hamburg indicated and rated possible measures. Secondly, supportive policy measures and profitability strategies found in the European North Sea region were collected and added. For each measure, experts from Hamburg s companies, administration and research rated the following four factors: 1. Replacement: rates the effectiveness of a measure to replace diesel vehicles through EVs; 2. Effort: rates the costs of a measure in terms of personnel and financial resources which Hamburgs government would be required to invest; 3. Integration: rates the feasibility of integrating a measure into the overall sustainable traffic planning concept; 4. Timeframe: indicates the time needed until a measure could be implemented. 1

10 Recommended measures: The report concludes with the recommendation to implement supportive measures which recorded high scores for the factors Replacement and Integration. If only limited resources are available, the expected Effort gives an indication about a possible ranking of these recommended measures. Short term Keep or even extend the exemption from annual vehicle tax. Implemented - Low effort. Increase the number of freight EVs in municipal services by implementing the HmbVgG 3B (9) more consistently. This directive allows emission-free vehicles to be preferred for municipal transport contracts carried out by external transport companies. Low effort. Implement information campaigns on freight EVs, including the possibility to deploy (electric) cargo cycles, scooters or quads. Medium effort. Offer the regulative advantage of privileged parking to EVs, as soon as the vehicles are legally marked. Medium effort. Medium term Campaign for drivers license exemptions at the federal assembly: allow the deduction of the battery weight from EVs gross weight, in order to allow drivers with a B class license to drive 3.5 ton EVs with a payload comparable to conventional vehicles. Medium effort. Campaign for a federal green transport label at the German federal parliament to support companies in communicating their commitment to reduce emissions by deploying freight EVs towards the customers. Medium effort. Support companies in establishing their own battery-charging infrastructure on their premises: Especially with a more expensive quick charging infrastructure, freight EVs could be deployed on multi-shifts. In this way they could reach total costs of ownership similar to, or even below, conventional vehicles. When profitable, more freight EVs would be deployed, leading to reduced emissions. High effort. Long term Fostering zero emission zones or exemptions from a city toll. City toll: Medium effort, Low emission zone: High effort. Improve cycle lanes infrastructure to support the usage of fast and heavy electric cargo cycles. High effort. Measures to test in pilot projects: Setting up pilot projects for freight EVs was a further recommended measure. Pilot projects offer the chance to evaluate whether a measure is effective, efficient and suitable for Hamburg. Hence, measures which achieved a medium score for the factors Replacement or Integration are suggested to be tested in pilot projects. Allow freight EVs to be used in pedestrian zones within the framework of a city logistic approach. Testing of consolidation centers or privileged loading bays as micro consolidation hubs. Time or spatial limitations for loud vehicles with EV exemptions. Encourage a local garage to set up an EV repair and service shop providing fast and reliable service to all freight EVs deployed in Hamburgs projects. A purchase price subsidy in freight EV projects, which is not only limited to leasing, but allows purchasing and which does not cap the annual amount of kilometers. Excluded measures: Two possible measures were excluded because of the low ratings given to them by the experts. A strict (green or blue) low emission zone would reduce the particulate matter emissions, but would have only a limited impact on the number of freight EVs. An exemption for freight EVs to utilize bus lanes seems especially undesirable in Hamburg. So far, available reports such as the Handlungsleitfaden Elektromobilität in Kommunen (Grausam et al., 2014) summarize measures to support EVs in general. These measures often cannot be directly transferred to the freight transport industry, which operates under different preconditions than passenger transport. Therefore, this report is focusing on measures to increase the share of freight EVs. We hope they will serve as a source of information and inspiration for Hamburg s policy makers. However, measures should be further assessed before being implemented within the framework of traffic and urban planning development. The results of this report, as well as the methodology to rate the measures can be readily applied to other cities. In this way, this report hopefully can help to increase the numbers of freight EVs and thus reduce emissions from freight transport in our cities. 2

11 1 Objective and structure This report aims at demonstrating the potential for electric freight transport in the city of Hamburg. It summarizes and prioritizes the actions Hamburgs government could take, in order to increase the share of freight electric vehicles (EVs). The factors which have been considered are the time line, resources needed, effectiveness to raise EV numbers and how well the action could be integrated into an overall traffic planning concept. The actions are ranked, prioritized and recommended (or not), in order to provide Hamburg s government with more potential tools for further integration. The report is one result of researching electric urban freight vehicles in the EU-Interreg Project North Sea Region Electric Mobility Network. Two similar reports are currently released for further metropolitan regions, Copenhagen and Amsterdam, their executive summaries can be found in the appendix of this report. While the report on hand stands on its own, it has been expanded and enhanced by findings in the other two regions to increase its impact and to serve as inspiration to support electric freight mobility in further European cities. Hamburg, its traffic and emissions are described. To expand the background information, governmental plans and programs and their impact on electric vehicles for urban freight transport purposes are described. Chapter 3 derives a list of possible measures to support electric freight vehicles in Hamburgs freight transport, by discussing the required conditions to successfully deploy electric freight vehicles. Cases and best practice examples from Hamburg, Germany and the North Sea region are summarized and compared in order to identify the potential which exists for Hamburg. Moreover, companies of different freight transporting segments (compare figure 1.3) have been interviewed on their opinion about potential measures to support EVs in Hamburgs freight transport. Figure 1.1: Overview of the research process Greening freight transport through electro mobility is one of the many possible measures which in combination foster sustainable mobility. Among others these are: attaining a higher fuel efficiency and thus lower emissions, i.e. through engine downsizing, vehicle lightweighting or increasing the traffic velocity; reducing vehicle movements, i.e. through higher average load factors; utilizing alternative fuels or engine technologies. Lacher (2013), furthermore, highlights that freight traffic is generated by consumer needs. Differentiating between traffic and mobility, and influencing the mobility needs of consumers, i.e. by informing the public on the negative effects of traffic, offers an additional angle to reduce the consequences of freight traffic. Bearing this in mind, the focus of this report is to highlight areas where battery electric vehicles have proved technically and economically viable in transporting urban freight over the past five years in the European North Sea region. 1.1 Structure and methodology The report is divided into four segments, following the research methodology depicted in figure 1.1. In chapter 2 the role of urban freight transport for These possible actions are discussed in chapter 4. In order to generate suggestions for the city of Hamburg, four factors were rated for each measure by up to 23 companies and five experts from Hamburg s government and one in research: 3

12 The effectiveness of replacing conventional vehicles through EVs and thus reduce tailpipe emissions (rated by companies and put into a greater perspective by the authoring team). The costs of the measure for personnel and financial resources in the administration (rated by experts from government). The potential to be integrated in a sustainable traffic planning concept (rated by experts from government and research). The time period needed for their implementation (rated by experts from the government). In chapter 5, the rated actions are prioritized according to a logic filtering method. Highly prioritized actions, which are cost-efficient and could be well implemented are recommended, lower ranking actions are suggested to be tested, i.e. in projects, and low ranking actions are abandoned. An overview of currently available freight vehicles concludes the report as appendix A Definitions Electric vehicles In this report, electric vehicles relate to battery electric vehicles. Hybrids are not included, as hybrid vehicles play only a minor role among commercial vehicles, compare figure 1.2. Figure 1.2: Number of commercial and hybrid EVs in Germany Data: Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (2013a). Government As one of Germany s 16 federal states, Hamburg is member of the German Bundesrat (Assembly of federal states) and contributes to the legislation and administration of the federal republic of Germany. For local administration Hamburg is divided into seven districts with own district authorities. This report addresses the government of Hamburg without distinguishing the different levels of political responsibilities. Commercial traffic This publication references commercial traffic as road traffic with motorized vehicles for business purposes. Commercial traffic encompasses the transport of persons (i.e. a shuttle service on companies premises) or goods (i.e. parcel delivery). Among the transport of goods, four segments are differentiated. This classification is based on Noche (2012), and has been enhanced by including municipal services, compare figure 1.3. Commercial transport: A company ships goods of a different party between two points. This encompasses mail or parcel delivery, courier services and haulage. Transport-on-own account: Encompasses transport activities of companies as an auxiliary activity and part of their value creation process. The transport is not for hire or rewarded (OECD, 2002). Typically those companies utilize their own drivers and own vehicles, for example a bakery which distributes the bread from a central bakery to the shops. While the German legal definition of transport-on-own-account only recognizes vehicles above 3.5t gross weight, this study also includes companies who utilize light commercial vehicles to transport freight on their own account. Services: Include groups which transport goods while providing a service, such as pizza deliveries, or craftsmen who repair a device and need to transport tools and spare parts. Municipal services: Includes vehicles in municipal fleets and services. Often specialized vehicles are utilized (such as garbage collection trucks), but also regular vehicles are deployed for transport tasks (i.e. for the transport of books between libraries). 4

13 Figure 1.3: Segments of urban commercial traffic 5

14 2 Analysis of Hamburg s freight traffic situation 2.1 Flourishing Hamburg Transport is important for the urban economy and vitality. This is especially true for Germany s second largest city, the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. The official name bears testimony to the city s strong historic background in trade and logistics, which once lay the foundation for Hamburg s wealth. Today, transport continues to be an essential sector in Hamburg, it accounts for ten percent of the city s GDP, which is twice the German average of about 5 percent (Sye, 2010). With the third largest container port in Europe and thanks to its favorable geographic location, Hamburg is the main hub for trade and traffic in Northern Europe (Löffler and Sye, 2010). With the highest GDP per head among the federal states (Statistisches Landesamt Baden-Württemberg, 2013) and constantly being rated among the most livable cities of the world, for example in studies of Mercer (2012), Hamburg s population of approximately 1.8 million is projected to increase. Studies on the projected population increase vary. The Statistisches Amt für Hamburg und Schleswig- Holstein (2010) only expects an increase of around 100,000 inhabitants between 2010 and 2030, while, as a high estimate, Eurostat, of the European Commission, estimates a 25% increase by 2030 (Konstantinos, 2010, 8). Figure 2.1: Hamburg in numbers. Data: Konstantinos (2010), Statistisches Amt für Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein (2010), Sye (2010), Statistisches Landesamt Baden-Württemberg (2013). 2.2 A focus on electro mobility Around 87 percent of the about 850,000 registered vehicles in Hamburg are passenger cars, about 6 percent are light and heavy commercial vehicles. Among these, the majority are light commercial vehicles of passenger car size or vans up to 1 ton payload (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt, 2014). Figure 2.2: Distribution of commercial vehicles per weight class in Hamburg Similar to other metropolitan areas, Hamburg is already faced with the negative impacts of road traffic already today: congestion, traffic accidents, noise pollution, local air pollutants and greenhouse gases. Enabling and shaping mobility, while limiting its negative impacts on the population and the environment is one of the major tasks growing cities like Hamburg are facing today. Data: Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (2014). Hamburg has a strong focus on electric mobility, which is reflected by the official vehicle statistics. Comparing the share of EVs within the licensed vehicle stock with the German average, reveals that in Hamburg there are twice as many electric passenger cars and twice as many electric light commercial vehicles, compare figure 2.3 (Kraftfahrt- Bundesamt, 2013a). The reason that no electric buses are registered in Hamburg is due to it s focus 6

15 on hybrid and hydrogen technology: Hamburg s ambitious alternative buses program is aiming to purchase solely low-emission buses from 2020 onwards. Figure 2.3: Percentage of electric vehicles of licensed vehicle stock, Hamburg and Germany 2014 Data: Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (2014). Remarkable about the vehicle population is that Hamburg has the youngest fleet of passenger vehicles in Germany, and after Berlin (6.2 years) the second youngest fleet of commercial vehicles (6.4 years on average, the German average is 7.6 years). Since Hamburg is the only major city in Germany without an environmental zone, the German automotive club ADAC draws the conclusion that environmental zones do not seem to be a driving factor for the renewal of the vehicle fleet in a city (ADAC, 2013). A different explanation can be derived when further examining the KBA statistics: in Hamburg, a high 18.7 percent of the passenger cars are registered by commercial owners - the German average is only 10.0 percent. Those commercial users dominated the new registrations of passenger cars in Hamburg (85%) in the past few years, compared to Germany s average of 60% in As nearly all electric vehicles sold today are new vehicles, one might argue that the commercial fleet in Hamburg presents a special opportunity to bring the new EV technology onto the streets. However, according to Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (2012), the high share of commercial owners registrations can mainly be credited to registrations through car manufacturers or rental companies like Europe car. 2.3 The second most congested city Statistically, every household in Hamburg has 0.8 cars; the lowest value for a federal state after Berlin (Infas, 2010), which is also a city state. Despite this low number, the dense population of Hamburg means a high number of vehicles in the city. 1,126 motorized vehicles per square kilometer were registered in January 2013, a large number compared to the German average of 147 vehicles per square kilometer. Commuters from adjoining federal states add to the vehicles on Hamburg s roads, as for example more than 2/3rds of 260,000 inbound commuters traveling to work reach Hamburg by passenger car (Statisches Bundesamt, 2009). The navigational system producer TomTom ranks Hamburg the second most congested city in Germany behind Stuttgart, and 9th of 59 rated European cities. According to TomTom Hamburg has a congestion level of 32%. This means in 2012 there was an average delay of 31 minutes per hour driven during the peak period and a total delay of 78 hours per year for a 30 minute commute. With 36%, the congestion level on non-highways is higher than the one on highways (27%). Thus the congestion inside the city is a bigger issue compared to the highways going past Hamburg in the East and West (TomTom, 2013). In the future, the growing population and demographic change will result in an increasing demand for transport services. Especially the groups of the young and older inhabitants are projected to increase in cities (Altenkirch et al., 2011, pp ). Young city dwellers who tend to not own a car, generate commercial traffic through e-commerce, leading to increasing home delivery and returns (ibidem). Similarly, the older generation will increasingly rely on mobility services like meal delivery and home care, also adding to the commercial traffic. To further develop and manage Hamburg s traffic, the administration has drafted a mobility program Mobilitätsprogramm The program contains a comprehensive overview on the current traffic situation and projects. It outlines the framework from which a future traffic development plan for Hamburg will be derived (BWVI, 2013). 7

16 Electro mobility could help reduce congestion and land use for loading and parking by replacing smaller freight vehicles with electric cargo bicycles, tricycles and scooters (Leonardi et al., 2012). However, those advantages are disputed in scientific literature: Melo et al. (2014) argues that a share higher than 10% of cargo bikes led to a higher traffic density and slower average speed, due to the slow EVs, in a simulation for the city of Porto (Portugal). The topic will be discussed further in chapter on page 40. The cargo bikes are usually deployed in the inner city area. In Hamburg a parcel delivery and a courier service are currently testing electrical cargo bikes, a second courier service has tested electrical scooters. Larger electric freight vehicles can help reduce congestion indirectly, when deployed in concepts like city logistics or night distribution. While such concepts reduce congestion independently from vehicle technology, the more silent and low-emission electric vehicles technology can be a door opener for the discussion of such concepts with stakeholders (Menge, 2013). 2.4 Up to 36% commercial traffic Commercial traffic encompasses the transport of freight and the transport of persons. Commercial vehicles contributes to about 36% of the total traffic volume in Germany (Wermuth, 2012). Thus, commercial traffic is of particular interest when it comes to reducing traffic and its related emissions. Hamburg has recognized the large potential the commercial vehicles segment offers for deploying electric vehicles. In 2009 Hamburg became one of eight pilot regions for electric mobility in Germany. Beyond the creation of public charging infrastructure, and supporting of hybrid buses and intermodal passenger transport, the third focus was laid on testing and supporting electric commercial vehicles. At the beginning of 2013, 68 commercially used battery electric vehicles were registered in Hamburg. With this number, Hamburg had together with Baden-Würtenberg the highest share of commercial EVs among all federal states (0.14 percent, compared to the German average of 0.09 percent), compare figure 2.3 on page 7. A new project Hamburg - Wirtschaft am Strom was launched in May In this project it is planned to subsidize up to 740 battery electric passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in public and commercial fleets (Senat-Hamburg, 2013, 17). 2.5 Strongest freight traffic growth In German cities about 1/3rd of the commercial traffic volume is generated by freight transport (Müller et al., 2006). With an annual increase of 3.1 percent, Hamburg s growth in road freight transport volume stands out among the federal states; the German average growth is only 0.85 percent, between 2004 and 2025 Hamburg s road freight transport volume will nearly double (ITP/BVU, 2007, p. 219). For this reason, freight traffic is a significant segment within commercial traffic where emission savings can be realized. The following weight classes can be differentiated in urban road freight transport: Heavy trucks above 12 tons Many of the heavy commercial vehicles over 12 tons connect the port with Hamburg s hinterland: one out of three containers handled in the port originates or is destined for Hamburg s metropolitan area %of these containers are transported via truck (Löffler and Sye, 2010). In order to manage the freight traffic in the port, the Hamburg Port Authority has developed a Masterplan for the road traffic in the harbor area. It includes, among other measures, capacity planing and IT support. Furthermore, Hamburg is testing an energy efficient EuroCombi ( Lang-LKW ). Existing EVs in this weight class are converted in pilot projects from diesel vehicles: for example, in Hamburg battery supplied automated guided vehicles (B-AGVs) have been successfully tested. These highly specialized vehicles can carry up to 60 ton containers in the port of Hamburg. Trucks between 3.5 and 12 tons Trucks up to 12 tons are exempt from the German highway toll ( Autobahn Maut ). In this weight class, some electric vehicles are already available, see appendix A.1. Distances covered in the city are often technically suitable to the kilometer range of electric trucks. In Hamburg, the commercial transport is dominated by haulage and Courier-, Express-, Parcel (CEP) companies. Half of the 2,000 registered haulage companies deploy commercial vehicles over 3.5t gross weight (Sye, 2010). Parcel delivery is growing at an exceptional rate due to the booming e-commerce segment: the amount of parcels sent to private customers (b2c) grew by 9.2% in 2012 (Esser and Kurte, 2013, 7). 8

17 Light commercial vehicles below 3.5 tons Light commercial vehicles are utilized by most of the 1,700 companies in CEP, which are mainly micro enterprises, typically transporting small and urgent courier goods (Sye, 2010). Light and medium commercial trucks up to 3.5 tons payload had the second highest share of the number of trips in commercial traffic (25%), after privately owned passenger cars (40%) and before passenger cars of commercial owners (20%) in Germany in 2010 (Hautzinger, 2012, p. 8). The surprising conclusion of the Kid survey (Wermuth, 2012) was that privately owned cars are an important but neglected factor in commercial traffic. While the main trip purpose for passenger cars of commercial owners was in service (35.5%), more than two thirds (68.5%) of the light and medium trucks up to 3.5t payload were used for freight transport purposes (Hautzinger, 2012, p.9). 2.6 Main noise contributor: Road traffic Road traffic is by far the main contributor to noise emissions in Hamburg. Noise from rail and air traffic plays a minor role (Ohm et al., 2012). Over 650,000 inhabitants of Hamburg are affected by noise over 55 db (A) (Umweltbundesamt, 2013a). Hamburg has published a noise action plan, the Lärmaktionsplan (Ohm et al., 2012). The authors describe immediate measures to be taken at the loudest roads with over 75 db during the day or 65 db at night. Further proposals are targeting roads with over 70 db during the day or 60 db at night. Measures proposed in the Lärmaktionsplan do not include electric commercial vehicles. Although electric trucks have an advantage with regards to noise emissions until they reach speeds of 50 km/h - meaning nearly on all inner city roads, larger electric commercial vehicles are not addressed as a possible measure to reduce noise in the Lärmaktionsplan (Umweltbundesamt, 2013b). Also not addressed are smaller transporters who brake and accelerate often in the city and would profit from an electric power-train with regards to noise reduction (Umweltbundesamt, 2013a, 59). Furthermore, electric bicycles and tricycles potentially can replace small cars in postal, courier and food delivery delivery services, reducing the noise level. Bundling these measures, the transporting of freight with electric vehicles could reduce the noise level in the whole city area. 2.7 Exceeding air pollutant limit values The city of Hamburg is monitoring the air quality according to the European air quality guideline and federal immission limitations. Hamburg exceeded - like further 56 German regions - the immission limit values for air pollutants and applied for a time extension (which was not granted) (Umweltbundesamt, 2011). Especially the Hamburg is exceeding especially the nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) limit values. In 2012 in four of Hamburg s observation stations, the values were exceeded significantly. The air quality plan identifies road traffic as the main cause for exceeding the limit values, by comparing different NO 2 immission levels, see figure 2.4. The regional background level of 13 µ g/m 3 was recorded in Bornhöved, a village of 3300 inhabitants about 50 kilometers from Hamburg (Lehmhaus and Mayer, 2013). Hamburg s city background level was measured in a park within the center of Hamburg (Sternschanze, 30 µ g/m 3 ). Here, the immission is still below the limit value of 40 µ g/m 3, while an observation station two kilometers further at the Max-Brauer-Allee, a busy road, records an immission value of 65 µ g/m 3 (data from 2012). Figure 2.4: Exemplary average annual NO 2 imssions in 2012 Data: Lehmhaus and Mayer (2013); Institut für Hygene und Umwelt (2013). Of the road traffic, vehicles over 3.5 tons have a 9

18 large impact on the air quality: although they contributed to less than 8% of the annual mileage in Hamburg, they were responsible for nearly 45% of traffic s NO x emissions, compare figure 2.5 (Böhm and Wahler, 2012, 39). Commercial traffic has a high share of the NO x emissions: 99% of the trucks over 3.5 tons and 94% of the light trucks below 3.5 tons are utilized in commercial traffic (Wermuth, 2012). Apart from light trucks, vehicles below 3.5 tons also include passenger cars. Of these, 18.7 percent are registered by commercial owners in Hamburg (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt, 2013b) who utilize their cars in 70 percent of the cases for commercial transport purposes. Figure 2.5: Average share of NO x emissions by vehicle class in Hamburg are considered. In personal transport the projects e-quartier and öffentlichen Personennahverkehr / Intermodalität are projects to improve the air quality. The project "Wirtschaft am Strom" focuses on commercial and public fleets. It is planned to subsidize up to a total 740 battery electric passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in public and commercial fleets. Furthermore, the Hamburg chamber of crafts started an initiative to support the Luftgütepartnerschaft by one thousand electrical vehicles for the crafts sector. The latter initiative does not offer monetary subsidies. Also the chamber of commerce has started an initiative on EVs and which offers rebates due to the bundled ordering. 2.8 Carbon dioxide emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from Hamburg s traffic increased by 32% between 2000 and 2010 (Statistikamt-Nord, 2013). In 2010, around one quarter (26 %) of CO 2 emissions were caused by road traffic in Hamburg (Statistikamt-Nord, 2013, 10). The emissions are mainly produced by passenger cars (2.2 Mt/a), followed by light commercial vehicles (0.45 Mt/a). Emissions from heavy commercial vehicles over 3.5t only accounted for about one tenth of passenger car emissions (0.2 Mt/a) (Groscurth et al., 2010). Data: Böhm and Wahler (2012). Figure 2.6: CO 2 emissions of Hamburg s traffic 2010 in Megatons In order to improve air quality, many other cities in Germany have introduced environmental zones. Instead, in Hamburg a voluntary cooperation called the Luftgütepartnerschaft (partnership for air quality) was established between the city and companies - represented by the chamber of commerce and chamber of trade. In this initiative the partners strive to support Hamburg s companies to reduce their traffic related air pollution. Emission efficient or -free vehicles are highlighted in the latest update of the Luftreinhalteplan as one important leverage to decrease traffic related air pollutants. Apart from battery electric vehicles, also hydrogen and hydrogen-hybrid vehicles Data: Groscurth et al. (2010). Electric mobility is the motorized mobility form which is least harmful for the climate, when charged using regenerative energy (Groscurth 10

19 et al., 2010). Germany is aiming to double EU CO 2 emission reduction goals by reaching 40% reductions until 2020 (BMU-BMWi, 2011). Hamburg confirms in its masterplan on climate protection (Senat-Hamburg, 2013, p.2) that the city will strive to reduce its CO 2 emissions according to the national targets. In the masterplan, freight traffic is differentiated into traffic generated by the port and by last mile urban freight distribution. The vision for the latter is that by the year 2050 incoming goods will be bundled in distribution areas and delivered silently during the night. To realize more immediate goals up until 2020, an action plan is derived. The plan focuses on measures with the highest CO 2 decrease at the lowest costs and the best social compatibility. With regards to commercial traffic, the single measure mentioned is the project Hamburg - Wirtschaft am Strom (Senat-Hamburg, 2013, 17), also see chapter 2.7. The base assessment ( Basisgutachten ) for the masterplan on climate protection for Hamburg highlights the deployment of electric vans as a very effective measure to decrease traffic related CO 2 emissions (Groscurth et al., 2010). As a supportive measure it recommends the expansion of the public charging infrastructure, which is more important to passenger transport and in services than to last mile delivery. 2.9 Road safety The relatively silent electrical vehicles are subject to discussion, as the noiseless electric motor makes an approaching electric vehicle harder to recognize, for example for blind people. A switchable sound was proposed by (Noche, 2012). Another safety aspect addressed by the media are the batteries, which have proven hard to extinguish once they have caught fire. Thus electric vehicles are not commonly mentioned when it comes to increasing road safety Summary Hamburg is a livable, flourishing city with a strong background in trade and transport. Its prosperity is reflected in the projected population growth of up to 25% by 2030 (Konstantinos, 2010) (however, other projections estimate a lower increase of only 5,6% (Statistisches Amt für Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein, 2010)). The gross value added of Hamburg s important transport sector is twice as high as the German average (Sye, 2010). In future, even more goods will be transshipped in the port and airport, due to the globalization trend. More goods will also be distributed within the city because of the increasing population and growing e-commerce. As a result, the road freight transport volume is projected to double between 2004 and 2025, corresponding to an annual increase of 3.1 percent - the highest value among Germany s federal states (ITP/BVU, 2007). On the downside, negative effects of road transport are already quantifiable already today: Hamburg is the second most congested city of Germany and 9th most congested of the 59 European cities looked at(tomtom, 2013). Greenhouse gas emissions of Hamburg s traffic have increased by 32% between 2000 and 2010; 26% of Hamburg s CO 2 emissions were caused by road traffic in 2010 (Statistikamt-Nord, 2013). Hamburg has exceeded the NO 2 limit values significantly in Road traffic is the main reason for exceeding the nitrogen dioxide immission limit values in Hamburg, to which commercial diesel vehicles are a major contributor with over 45%of road traffic emissions (Böhm and Wahler, 2012). Road traffic is the main contributor to the high noise level in Hamburg, affecting approximately one third of the population with noise over 55 db(a) (Umweltbundesamt, 2013a). Electric vehicles charged by renewable energy can help reduce noise-, greenhouse gas- and air pollutant emissions. This is especially true for electric vehicles in urban freight transport, as larger transport vehicles emit more pollutants than small passenger cars per kilometer and have a higher annual average mileage (Wermuth, 2012). Furthermore heavy commercial electric vehicles are quieter until a speed of 50 km/h, thus nearly in the entire city area (Umweltbundesamt, 2013b). Congestion can be reduced by electric freight vehicles when 11

20 deployed in off-hours delivery or city logistic concepts. While this is true for conventional diesel vehicles as well, the silent and emission-efficient delivery can be a door-opener for off-hours delivery and city logistics (Menge, 2013). To further reduce congestion, inner city last mile transport of light and low-volume goods can potentially be carried out by electric cargo bikes or scooters. Hamburg s government is a strong supporter of electric mobility; Hamburg is one of Germany s pilot regions for testing of electric vehicles. This commitment results in twice as many electric passenger cars and twice as many commercial electric vehicles registered in Hamburg, compared to the German average licensed vehicle stock (Kraftfahrt- Bundesamt, 2013a). Also, administrative initiatives and action plans reflect that electric mobility is playing a role in reducing the impact of road traffic in Hamburg, compare table 2.1. Issue Potential of freight EVs Administrative EV initiatives Carbon dioxide Light commercial vehicles emit 16%, heavy commercial vehicles 7% of Hamburg s traffic emissions. The masterplan on climate protection names the project Wirtschaft am Strom to decrease commercial vehicles emissions. Focus of EV initiative Wirtschaft am Strom focuses on commercial fleets and subsidizes passenger cars and vans below 2.3 tons. Air pollutants, especially nitrogen dioxide Vehicles over 3.5 tons (which are nearly exclusively used for freight transport) are responsible for 45%, vehicles below 3.5 tons for 47% of Hamburg s traffic NO x emissions. The air quality plan refers to the project "Wirtschaft am Strom". Wirtschaft am Strom focuses on commercial fleets and subsidizes passenger cars and vans below 2.3 tons. Noise Heavy electric trucks are quieter up to 50 km/h (nearly the whole city area), passenger EVs until 30 km/h. The noise action plan does not mention commercial electric vehicles for potential noise reduction. The noise action plan relates to individual transport with EVs. Congestion Off-hours or night time delivery with silent EVs potentially could reduce congestion during rush-hour. Land consumption and congestion can be further mindered through ecargobikes or escooters. The mobility plan does not foresee EVs as a measure to reduce congestion. None Table 2.1: Comparison of the potential of freight EVs with Hamburg s administrative electro mobility focus 12

21 When contrasting the possible emission reduction of electric urban freight vehicles with the project goals, it becomes obvious that the potential of freight EVs beyond passenger size is untapped in Hamburg as of yet: Hamburg s large project Wirtschaft am Strom aims at increasing the numbers of EVs in commercial traffic. Mainly passenger size cars are offered. Small vans below 2.3 tons (up to 500 / 650 kg payload) are the largest light commercial vehicles featured in the list of subsidized vehicles 1. Those vehicles are mainly used for passenger transport or to provide services. Especially against the backdrop of projected increasing future road freight transport, electric urban freight transport with EVs of 3.5 tons and above offer a high unexploited potential in noise and NO 2 reductions. Furthermore, utilizing ecargobikes to replace small delivery vehicles and with it reduce emissions and congestion is not yet part of municipal projects in Hamburg. One reason for Hamburg to concentrate on smaller commercial EVs according to Knahl and Sommer (2013, 22) is that vehicles over 3.5 tons are not suitable for the substitution with EVs in the nearer future. The next chapter of this report will highlight strategies to profitably deploy freight EVs in urban transport, describe and compare examples of freight transport with EVs in Hamburg, Germany and the North Sea region