Speaker: Jesper Bang Mikkelsen, AU

Title: The Mixed Fleet Green Vehicle Routing Problem with Green Zones

Abstract

Public administrations all over Europe have started introducing environmental zones in city centers to limit noise and air pollution generated by industries in densely populated areas. For road freight transport, the introduction of green zones poses a new operational challenge where certain vehicles are either not allowed to enter a zone or must pay compensation for GHG emissions inside the zone. Especially for companies operating a heterogeneous fleet of internal combustion engine vehicles and electric vehicles in areas with green zones, optimal utilization of the fleet becomes vital.  

In this work, we introduce a new VRP variant called the Mixed Fleet Green Vehicle Routing Problem with Green Zones that aims to serve all customers at a minimum travelled distance, such that no green zone restrictions are violated. In general, routing problems with electric vehicles are associated with high complexity and long computation times. On top of scheduling customer visits, suitable intermediate stops at charging stations must be planned to prevent vehicles stranding far away from the depot. To speed-up resolution, we propose a set of new valid inequalities based on the energy and time required for driving a route.

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Organisers: Sanne Wøhlk and Marcel Turkensteen