Transport (Mobilitytech and Transporttech)

The transport sector is one of the sectors responsible for the largest share of global emissions, in the EU and in Sweden. Emissions from domestic transport account for over 32% of total greenhouse gas emissions in Sweden and just over 23% in the EU. The majority of transport emissions in Sweden come from road traffic, mainly from passenger cars and heavy vehicles. In its roadmap, the transport industry identifies the need for more efficient transport in order for the industry to achieve the same transport benefits with fewer vehicle kilometres.40 The industry highlights the opportunities that increased digitization and technology can provide in this work, such as shared data on transport needs, transport chains and transport patterns for goods, among other things, and how this can lead to efficiency improvements and reduced mileage as a result.

Example 4: Autonomous vehicles and 5G can significantly reduce emissions in the transport sector

Challenge: According to the Swedish Transport Administration, demand for freight transport in Sweden is expected to increase by around 50% by 2040, and road freight transport is expected to increase in particular. The Swedish Parliament's climate target for the transport sector means that greenhouse gas emissions from domestic transport, excluding air traffic, must be reduced by 70% by 2030, compared with 2010 levels. In 2019, emissions from domestic transport amounted to 16.6 million tons of CO2e, of which road transport accounts for more than 90%. Freight transport accounts for around 20% of road transport emissions, equivalent to around 3.2 million tons of CO2e. The strong growth in demand for freight transport, combined with ambitious targets for emission reductions in the transport sector, pose major challenges for the sector in its transition work.

Solution: Technological development and digitalization have the potential to be a key factor in the transport sector's climate transition work. For example, the Swedish Transport Administration notes that automation, electrification and digitization will be important elements in creating the conditions for more cost- and energy-efficient transport solutions and that digitization and technology can contribute to increased route optimization and fill rates.

Ericsson is working with both large transportation solution providers like Volvo and Scania, as well as new innovators like technology company Einride, which in just a few years has built one of Europe's largest fleets of electric trucks and has recently entered the US market. Einride has created a logistics system that uses automation, self-driving trucks, AI and machine learning to create more efficient freight and logistics management while reducing vehicle emissions. The first part of Einride's solution is the electrification of transportation through the development of electric trucks. The next step is a comprehensive digital transportation system that has great potential to make transport more efficient. The autonomous electric trucks are controlled by operators who can control multiple vehicles simultaneously. In addition to the efficiency that more vehicles per operator means, an increased filling rate in the transports also contributes to more goods being transported with the same number of transports as before. Ericsson is providing Einride with the 5G technology needed to ensure the high efficiency of the transportation system and to get the autonomous vehicles on the road safely and efficiently. Ericsson estimates that more than 60% of transportation today could be replaced with Einride and Ericsson 5G technology.

Technology: 5G, electrified and autonomous vehicles Partners: Ericsson, Einride and Scania.