The V-Feather vehicle is based on a modular building block concept that uses active, adaptive structural architecture. This means that it consists of multiple connected modules: a cab module where the driver sits, and one or more freight modules of different sizes and types. These can be added or removed over the course of the delivery route based on real-time requirements to increase capacity, improve agility, or transport special freight such as refrigerated goods. This enables better flexibility and cost reductions. As project manager Wassila Mtalaa, researcher at CRP Henri Tudor, explains: “It is expensive for a company to buy five delivery vans, but with this vehicle they can buy, for example, two cabin modules and six freight modules, and adapt the configuration based on changing order sizes.”

Agile vehicle to meet real-time delivery needs

CRP Henri Tudor is participating in the V-Feather project within the context of its MOBILITY innovation programme. The Centre is responsible for providing recommendations for the eco-design of the vehicle as well as developing a new system for last mile delivery known as Deposit Rapid Recharge and Recollect (D3R), a method that allows vehicles to drop off modules at delivery points and continue in a smaller configuration.

A key advantage of this system is that it extends the range of electric vehicles. “The problem with electric vehicles is that they have limited range, so cities are only using them for residential mobility,” Dr Mtalaa explains. The V-Feather vehicle, on the other hand, will be optimised for last mile delivery. “Due to the vehicle’s modularity,” she says, “we can deliver all around the city, leaving modules to recharge at different locations and picking them up again later to provide battery power to the rest of the vehicle.”

From concept to working vehicle

V-Feather brings together industrial and research partners from Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, around the ambitious goal of designing the new electric modular vehicle from the ground up. It will define the vehicle specifications, develop and simulate the modular vehicle and fleet management concept, manufacture a working prototype and, finally, test it in a real environment. The resulting vehicle will benefit both delivery providers, who will be able to increase their agility, and cities, which will benefit from cleaner air and better traffic flow.

The vehicle’s development comes at the right time, coinciding with the increasing focus on electric mobility in Luxembourg. As Dr Mtalaa points out, “It’s in line with national objectives to promote electric vehicles. The planned installation of electric charging stations across the country will not only benefit private cars, but also make it easier to introduce electric freight vehicles, such as V-Feather, onto the market.”

See also: Green Cars Initiative