The city of Stuttgart is an official partner of the FCCP project and, like other cities, validates two FCCPs and deploys them in the public sector. At the "Innovation Lastenrad" action day, various cargo bikes were compared with each other, including the innovative FCCP.
A large test track for test driving and exciting results from current scientific research projects awaited visitors at the "Innovation Lastenfahrrad" action day on June 28 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Stuttgart's Karlsplatz.
The technical development of e-load bikes offers a lot of room for innovation, and the possible applications in the commercial sector are already very diverse. These potentials of the vehicles and their use will be demonstrated by selected, current research projects on Karlsplatz as part of the Stuttgart Science Festival.
Ines Aufrecht, Head of Coordination S21/Rosenstein and Future Projects, says of the City of Stuttgart's commitment: "Visitors to the day of action can get a comprehensive picture of the current state of the art of e-load bikes, their performance and manageability, and a future development of drive technology and equipment for commercially used load bikes. In this way, we want to provide very concrete support for commercial transport players on their way to more sustainable corporate mobility."
Volker Zahn, Stuttgart's Commercial Transport Officer, adds: "The experiences of our test pioneers, who had the opportunity to extensively test a selected cargo bike model in their business operations over a period of several weeks, are already very impressive. Many advantages but also disadvantages as well as the suitable size and equipment of a vehicle only become visible in daily operation during trips in the urban area under real conditions. On the positive side, when the pioneers switch to the e-load bike, they have, above all, the possibility of avoiding traffic jams, a significant time saving when looking for a parking space, in addition to the contribution made to the reduction of pollutant and noise emissions."
The city of Stuttgart commissioned Berlin-based cargobike.jetzt GmbH to design and implement the program. Project manager Kirsten Havers says about the concept of the program and the test track: "Modern e-load bikes have to convince companies in practice. For this, more test opportunities and visible pioneers are needed on the one hand, and good advice and reliable technical service on site on the other."
In addition to the test and consulting offer for commercially used cargo bikes, two scientific institutions will provide interesting insights into their current research projects in the field of cargo bikes as part of the Stuttgart Science Festival. The future of commercially used cargo bikes and innovations in drive systems and superstructures will be vividly demonstrated. The Institute for Materials Handling and Logistics at the University of Stuttgart will provide information on the initial results of its current research projects on logistical processes between the distribution center and the recipient and on a new, standardized superstructure for commercial cargo bikes. Among other things, answers will be given to the questions "Freight bike on the high seas - What do freight bikes and sea containers have in common?" and "What does the future of mobility look like?".
The scientist Prof. Ralf Bogdanski from the TH Nuremberg criticizes that "the container of a cargo bike does not fit on any other cargo bike or truck". That's not how logistics works, he says. The logistical process from the distribution center outside the city to the recipient is also still unclear: Where is the container loaded? Can supply be combined with disposal? The Institute for Materials Handling and Logistics at the University of Stuttgart is pursuing all of these problems and questions. At the "Innovation Lastenfahrrad" action day, the institute will provide information about the initial results.
The Institutes of Technical Thermodynamics and of Vehicle Concepts at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) in Stuttgart present "The cargo bicycle with hydrogen supply - emission-free and traffic-relieving delivery in the inner city". This will highlight the potential of this new drive technology for cargo bikes.
Cargo bikes are a veritable answer to the growing demands of last-mile delivery. Batteries are usually used to support the drivers. However, batteries have disadvantages: their performance is limited, charging takes time, and performance is reduced at low temperatures.
Project manager Dr. Mathias Schulze at the DLR Institute of Technical Thermodynamics says, "DLR's zero-emission fuel cell technology delivers significantly more energy down to -20 degrees Celsius, can be refilled in seconds, and is twice as durable as batteries at comparable cost. With these features, a fuel cell cargo bike can save 5.5 tons of CO2 per year compared to a truck."
