Techno-Economic and Environmental Impact Analysis of Electrified Road Systems for Battery Electric Trucks

In recent years, the European Commission has imposed more stringent regulations on CO2 emissions, requiring significant reductions for Heavy-Duty Vehicles (HDV). For this reason, Battery Electric Trucks (BETs) are becoming a promising solution. While in urban delivery missions the limitations related to payload reduction due to battery weight and restricted driving range are relatively contained, their adoption for long-haul transport remains constrained by long charging times and significant payload penalties. These challenges have driven research into new technologies that allow recharging while driving: the Electrified Road System (ERS). This thesis evaluates the technical and sustainable feasibility, both environmental and economic, of Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer (DWPT) ERS to address the challenges of long-haul battery electric heavy-duty trucks (BEHDT) along a 715 km route between Torrazza (Piedmont) and Colleferro (Lazio). To this end, MATLAB was used to simulate energy consumption and recharging system utilisation ratios. Subsequently, the environmental impacts were assessed in SimaPro, focusing on the CO2 emission from the construction of the electrified road over its lifetime. Finally, a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis was performed through a cost model in Python. Results show that the implementation of ERS technology enables battery downsizing up to 46%, reducing the battery’s climate impact by approximately 45%. The most significant climate impact arises from road maintenance activities. The TCO analysis, expressed in €/ton · km, indicates that the ERS becomes economically feasible under the average and optimistic scenarios, further demonstrating the advantage of an increased maximum payload enabled by battery downsizing. In conclusion, the Electrified Road System appears promising for reducing battery size and environmental impact. Nonetheless, cost reductions and high utilisation of the infrastructure are required for large-scale deployment and to ensure economic viability.