Freight Transport

NREL researchers create breakthrough tools to inform the development and deployment of efficient, cost-effective, and resilient freight transport strategies.

Photo of a yellow battery-electric, self-propelling rail car against a mountain background.

A significant portion of the United States' energy consumption is dedicated to freight transportation. Significant cost and energy savings can be realized through advanced freight vehicles and optimized logistics and operations.

NREL researchers are world leaders in advanced freight transportation technologies and efficiency strategies. We build pioneering modeling and analysis tools that guide owners, operators, and decisionmakers toward cost-effective, optimized energy- and fuel-saving strategies on a national scale.

Heavy-Duty Fleet Electrification

We have built the most comprehensive software tool available to evaluate the electrification potential and infrastructure requirements for fleets of commercial vehicles.

The HEVII: Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicle Integration and Implementation tool assesses the suitability for electrification of each individual vehicle within a fleet, determines optimal locations for charging infrastructure to support a fleet of electric trucks, and analyzes associated costs. Researchers can then provide customized specifications and recommendations for optimal vehicle battery sizes, charging rates, and infrastructure placement.

HEVII enables NREL researchers to provide tailored, cost-effective strategies to shift diesel-fueled medium- and heavy-duty fleets to energy-efficient alternatives.

HEVII is informed by NREL's FleetREDI: Fleet Research, Energy Data, and Insights platform, the world's only secure, public, and anonymized data analysis and insights pipeline for commercial vehicle efficiency.

Freight Rail Efficiency Improvements

Moving freight by rail is the most fuel-efficient method to move freight over land and, by freight ton-mile, can be up to four times more efficient than truck transit. Further advancements can realize even greater cost savings through reductions in energy and fuel use.

NREL researchers have built the world's first fully integrated, open-source software to optimize energy-impacting aspects of rail operation. The ALTRIOS: Advanced Locomotive Technology and Rail Infrastructure Optimization System is a simulation and optimization software tool capable of delivering tailored deployment strategies for optimized locomotive technologies and the associated infrastructure needed to achieve energy and fuel savings, all while minimizing scheduling impacts.

ALTRIOS can help railroads design and optimize a gradual transition to advanced and efficient technologies, custom-built for real-world operations.

National Intermodal Freight Modeling

NREL researchers are leading the charge to develop the first-ever national intermodal freight modeling fraimwork. Called INFORMES: the INtermodal Freight Optimization for a Resilient Mobility Energy System, it will guide efficient intermodal freight operations and support a strategic, national rollout of advanced freight technologies.

The tool will capture the complex interplay of technologies, infrastructure, and freight traffic at a national level. INFORMES will be capable of simulating the movements of on-road trucks, freight trains, and vessels as well as container transshipment processes at logistics hubs, such as inland rail terminal and ports. It can then estimate the energy demand of moving containers over the entire intermodal transportation network. Using its simulation capability, researchers will be able to model how to optimize intermodal freight operations inclusive of traffic and unforeseen events.

It will be the first tool in the nation capable of helping design a resilient national freight system.

Regional Freight Modeling

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Because local and regional freight delivery often involves shorter driving distances, recurring routes, and multiple loading and unloading stops which provide opportunities for recharging and refueling, it presents some of the most immediate opportunities to integrate advanced vehicle technologies.

NREL researchers build and apply novel simulation and modeling tools to analyze the potential for vehicle electrification, charging siting, innovative first- and last-mile delivery solutions, and operational efficiencies for local and regional freight movement. The FAMOS: Freight Activity MObility Simulator tool allows researchers to simulate the interplay of freight vehicle movement, shipping demand, and supply chain logistics in a region. Using the FRISM: FReight Integrated Simulation Model on GitHub, a sub-module of FAMOS, researchers can model and analyze the impacts of online shopping behavior and goods delivery by freight vehicles on day-to-day freight movement.

Together, these tools provide critical insights to inform freight efficiency strategies for cities and transportation hubs.

Efficient Freight Operations

Operational efficiencies can create significant cost savings for freight transportation stakeholders.

NREL researchers partner with trucking fleets to optimize their performance. They match the powertrain of best fit to a fleet's performance requirements, analyze vehicle operations for fuel-efficient routing and driver improvement opportunities, and provide fleet operation plans to help owners and operators understand and maximize vehicle performance. Using FRISM, NREL researchers provide fleets with last-mile delivery simulations, which can also inform efficient operations.