Project in focus: ZEFES

Author: EUCAR March 17, 2023 Share this:

Road freight transport is the backbone of the European economy and essential to the integrated European logistics and transport system. Road transport is by far the most important mode of freight transport, delivering goods across Europe quickly, efficiently, flexibly and cost-effectively. However, it causes negative externalities such as noise, CO2 and particulate matter emissions.

The ZEFES project (Zero emission flexible vehicle platforms with modular powertrains serving the long-haul freight ecosystem) addresses the decarbonisation of long-distance freight transport by demonstrating real-world applications with battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) across Europe.

The project will deploy nine different long-haul truck configurations, 6 BEVs and 3 FCEVs, in 15 demonstration sites covering:

• Zero emission technologies and fast charging.
• Intermodal and cross-border transport along the TEN-T corridors.
• Fifteen months of operations under real-world conditions.
• One million kilometres of driving data from demonstration actions.

ZEFES brings together the road transport value chain: automobile manufacturers and suppliers, logistic operators and shippers, and professional drivers. All these stakeholders will work together to demonstrate the efficiency improvements of these zero-emission technologies in daily operations bringing freight transport one step closer to Europe’s Green Deal targets.

This project is co-funded under the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101095856