Project in Focus: AEROFLEX

On October 2017 six EUCAR members (DAF Trucks, IVECO, Scania AB, Volvo Group and FIAT Chrysler Automobile) coordinated by MAN Truck and Bus, launched the AEROFLEX project. This ambitious project will develop and demonstrate new technologies, concepts and architectures for complete vehicles with optimised aerodynamics, powertrains and safety systems as well as flexible and adaptable loading units with advanced connectivity. The best match between novel vehicle concepts and infrastructures is very important. For this, the definition of smart infrastructure access policies for the next generation of trucks, load carriers and road infrastructure is required.

AEROFLEX has recently started its second year, among other relevant results, the project  has identified 25 use cases. These use cases were defined with the support of 72 companies including logistics solution providers and shippers. AEROFLEX has also achieved some technical results: On aerodynamics, the CFD models (Computational Fluid Dynamics) for the reference and baseline models are ready. Other organisations (including the automobile manufacturers association ACEA) have shown their interest in these reference models for further use. As a result from the in-depth accident analysis the project has obtained valuable information to develop novel front-end crash design. Finally, the project defined within this first phase detailed plan for the demonstration and evaluation activities.

Supporting our members, the project consortium includes 17 partners from universities, research centres, automotive suppliers, logistic providers and road authorities. This project is co-funded under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 769658.

For further information on the project results, please visit the project website.

Project facts:

Start: Duration: Budget: Public funding: Website:
October 2017 42 months €11.8 million €9.5 million https://aeroflex-project.eu/
Partners: Coordinator: MAN Truck & Bus
EUCAR members: DAF Trucks, IVECO, Scania AB, Volvo Group and FIAT Chrysler Automobile.
Partners: 17 partners from universities, research centres, automotive suppliers, logistic providers and road authorities.