Researching the container handling of the future

How can entire vehicle fleets be managed and controlled in traffic? These are fundamental questions of electromobility that scientists from the new joint project BESIC want to clarify - funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology with 2.3 million euros.

Electromobility is an important component of the energy transition. To make it a success, information and communication technologies (ICT) are required to provide complex services - for example, how to manage vehicle fleets and control traffic. This is precisely where the joint project "Battery electric heavy goods vehicles in intelligent container terminal operations (BESIC)" comes in.

Funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi), 2.3 million euros are available for the research work under the umbrella of the Energy Research Centre of Lower Saxony (EFZN). The overall project manager is Oldenburg-based Computing Science Professor Dr Dr h. c. Hans-Jürgen Appelrath.

In addition to the University of Oldenburg, the University of Göttingen and Clausthal University of Technology are also involved. Project partners from industry include HHLA Container-Terminal Altenwerder GmbH, Gottwald Port Technology GmbH and Vattenfall Innovation GmbH. The three-year project will be launched in January. The BMWi is funding it as part of the technology competition "ICT for electromobility II - Smart Car - Smart Grid - Smart Traffic".


In the joint project, scientists are investigating the use of electromobility in closed logistics systems. ICT-supported planning and control of charging processes for electric heavy goods vehicles is intended to increase flexibility in container terminals and the proportion of renewable energies in electricity consumption. To this end, the experts want to develop a battery management system and test innovative energy storage systems, and Prof Dr Katharina Al-Shamery, Vice President for Research at the University of Oldenburg, is delighted that the University of Oldenburg is in charge of this ambitious large-scale project. "This once again demonstrates the excellent networking and high reputation of Oldenburg Computing Science," says Al-Shamery.

"The BMWi funding gives the participating scientists from Lower Saxony the opportunity to work together with advanced industrial partners in a promising field of research," emphasises Appelrath. The container terminal of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG in Altenwerder is groundbreaking for the container handling of the future - and therefore ideal for the BESIC project, adds Prof Dr Axel Hahn, Oldenburg expert in business informatics, who is also involved in the project. Terminal operations are largely automated and are therefore world-leading. Among other things, this was made possible by an ICT-based control system for driverless transport vehicles in the container terminal.

Whether electromobility catches on ultimately depends on its cost-effectiveness. The scientists see one way of reducing costs in intelligent strategies for charging the interchangeable batteries. "The use of renewable energies results in a fluctuating supply of electricity, which increasingly influences pricing in distribution trading and ultimately also supply tasks," explains Appelrath. By controlling the use of electricity flexibly and in a way that is compatible with the grid, there is potential for load shifting that can be marketed by the terminal operator in exchange with electricity suppliers.

The scientists are particularly focussed on using ICT systems to optimally control electric vehicles and electricity loads in the closed logistics system between the ship and container warehouse. "The research can point the way for a variety of other transport and logistics systems, for example for route-guided electric vehicles in local public transport," emphasises Appelrath.