GOING THE EXTRA MILE
(ON ELECTRIC)
John Kendall looks at IF – a new solution to increase the efficiency of last-mile delivery operations
It seems that the power source that makes the most sense for last-mile delivery vehicles is going to be electricity. A van might be the means of transporting deliveries up to that final section of the route, while it may also be the means of transporting the last-mile delivery vehicle too. That is the vision of IF Vehicles, which recently launched its prototype multi-modal last mile delivery vehicle.
The IF can be ingeniously transformed from a light quadricycle, with the driver riding on the back of the vehicle and controlling it using the handlebar controls, to a power-assisted trolley for use in pedestrian areas.
“We don’t want to replace vans, we just want to make sure they are 100% efficient,” CEO Andrew Hodgson told EVFW. “At the moment delivery vans, especially in the last-mile are leaving around 50% full, because that’s all the person that’s driving them can actually do. We are working with our partners, the Algorithm People, to do some simulations to work out just exactly how many we can replace.
“Our early simulations have estimated that one van, servicing a hub and spoke, can drop off up to four or five of our vehicles. We can probably replace six or seven vans because that one van would be 100% efficient and it’s doing three to four round trips back to a depot.”
IF wants to work with customers to produce a container system that will work best for them, “We’ve got lots of options,” says Hodgson.
“Our future thinking is that we would use micro-containers. They could be passed between different modes of transport.” The micro-containers could be produced in various sizes according to the load they would be transporting.
“We’re looking at different ways of minimising the amount of infrastructure needed to transfer loads from the van to our vehicles,” continues Hodgson. “We’re working with a company called Vic Young in Newcastle that produces electric tail-lifts. We would have a false floor where the IF rolls out from and the micro-containers would be straight above it and rolls straight out onto the If. We’ve got a few different methods. We’re just trying to work out which is the best for which customer.”
Hodgson expects that the IF, once loaded, would be mainly operated in trolley mode, where the driver would be making deliveries. When the rider needs to get to the next interception point, to meet a van dropping off goods, that’s when he will switch back to quadricycle mode and ride to meet the van.
Production models are expected to be around 760mm wide to make sure they won’t be a nuisance to pedestrians. The idea is that they should be around the same size as a Royal Mail delivery trolley.
“Our future thinking is that we would use micro-containers. They could be passed between different modes of transport.”
“We’re very concerned about the impact on the environment,” says IF co-founder and chairman Bill Clare. “By the environment, we include people around us.
“We think it’s going to help the environmental efficiencies of fleets when they integrate this,” continues Hodgson. “But we’re also not just striving to be a circular product, we’re also striving to be a circular company as well. That means we’re not just looking at the life-cycle of our product but looking at where the components will go. We’re doing some research with CPI looking at re-cycled composites from wind turbines which are coming to the end of their lives.
“We’re also looking to battery and motor manufacturers to say that while they should be designing for us, they also need to take in designing for the third, fourth and fifth lives, so components will almost just pass through us and can then be used at a later date.”
Hodgson reckons that a fully charged IF vehicle would be able to work for a whole day without re-charging. The prototype’s battery will last for over 12 hours. IF has thought about the problems posed by different locations so may design the vehicle with extra battery capacity for hilly areas. Delivery vans could also bring spare batteries if they were needed. The vehicle would be produced to the requirements of category L6e for light quadricycles and drivers would need to hold an appropriate licence.
