LIFT: A user-friendly and scalable technoeconomic energy system simulation tool for fleet and depot electrification

Fleet electrification is essential for achieving the European Union’s heavy-duty vehicle greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, aiming for a 90% reduction by 2040 compared to 2019. However, the transition from internal combustion engine to battery electric trucks often requires adapting both fleet and depot infrastructure, presenting significant economic challenges for logistics companies. Logistics Infrastructure and Fleet Transformation (LIFT) is an open-source Python tool supporting planning for heavy-duty vehicle fleet electrification and the depot energy system’s accompanying upgrade. Through a web-based graphical user interface, users define both the status quo of fleet and depot, as well as an electrification/expansion scenario. An energy system simulation backend then calculates key techno-economic KPIs for both scenarios and compares them, enabling quick insights into the effects of intended measures and allowing for preliminary expansion planning of the depot extension to be derived. Optional direct access to the backend ensures scalability. This publication presents both LIFT’s setup and its application in three illustrative hypothetical freight forwarding depot electrification examples.