With Conti Eco and Conti Efficient Pro, Continental has demonstrated the crucial role that tyres play in the electrification of commercial vehicle fleets in Europe.
Low Resistance Tyres
Commercial vehicles account for around one-third of greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector. According to the EU Emissions Regulation, CO2 emissions from heavy-duty vehicles must be reduced by 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels, which in turn makes vehicle manufacturers and fleet operators focus more on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. “We have developed both tyre lines to increase fuel and energy efficiency in regional and long-distance transport, reduce CO2 emissions and equip fleets for electrification,” says Hinnerk Kaiser, Head of Product Development EMEA at Continental.
Reducing rolling resistance and improving mileage has a positive impact on the ecological footprint. For regional transport with demanding stop-and-go traffic, Continental has developed the Conti Hybrid tyre that delivers high mileage. “This means that choosing the right tyres when configuring new trucks is becoming even more important, especially given an emissions-based toll component within the EU,” says Hinnerk Kaiser.
Fuel and Rolling Resistance
The CO2 emissions are directly connected to fuel consumption and the tyre rolling resistance. According to the German Federal Environment Agency, a diesel semi-trailer truck with a gross vehicle weight of 40 tonnes has a greenhouse gas potential of around 1,000 grams of CO2 eq/km with an average load. By far the largest share (937 g CO2eq/km) is attributed to fuel combustion and supply. This means that fuel accounts for 90% of the CO2 emissions of a fossil fuel-powered truck. Even with electric semi-trailers, 75% of CO2 emissions are still attributed to the electricity supply. Energy-saving tyres, such as Conti ECO HS 5 and Conti Efficient Pro HS 5, make an effective contribution to reducing the fleet’s emissions and are a crucial factor in terms of sustainability, efficiency and green fleet management.
Alternative powertrains place high demands on the wear behaviour, noise characteristics, and rolling resistance of a tyre. The further development of these criteria is currently the focus of tyre engineers at Continental and will remain so in the future. The driving range of electric trucks and buses is the most important factor for original equipment manufacturers and in the replacement business. “That’s why tyres with low rolling resistance are the obvious choice, as this directly influences the vehicle’s range,” explains Hinnerk Kaiser.
TCO Transparency
The central guiding principle for fleet operators is the optimisation of TCO and CO2 reduction. That’s why tyre developers are continuing to focus on optimising rolling resistance for the time being. “It has the greatest influence on vehicle mileage, which is particularly relevant at present because of the current charging infrastructure,” adds Leo Kolodziej, Head of Original Equipment Business for Truck Tyres EMEA at Continental. Vehicle range and energy consumption are directly factored into the TCO. “Only a few fleets currently have the necessary transparency to comprehensively calculate the TCO advantages between diesel and electric commercial vehicles. Solutions are needed here and we can already offer these solutions for tyres.”
Despite major advances in battery technology for lighter battery weights, electric commercial vehicles are currently still around a third heavier than combustion engine vehicles. The tyres must, therefore, be rated to carry these higher vehicle weights. That is why the new Conti Eco HS 5 and Conti Efficient Pro HS 5 lines have a higher load index. This increases the load capacity of the tyres, meaning that fleet operators hardly have to compromise in terms of payload for their electric trucks.
“Up to a battery capacity of around 500 kilowatt hours, one of our battery-electric trucks no longer has any payload disadvantage in many applications,” says Markus Erdmann from Designwerk Technologies, a development partner of Continental for electric mobility. Continental and its partners, such as Designwerk, want to contribute as much as possible to driving forward the transformation to electric mobility with innovative products and solutions. “Our current product portfolio already optimally reflects the requirements of electric mobility,” says Hinnerk Kaiser. ”In close coordination with our customers in both the replacement and original equipment businesses, we will continue to develop customer-oriented tyre products and support the transformation in mobility with all our strength.”
