Sustainable vehicles and research into car batteries

Hello, I'm Ann Delahaye, project manager at Sustainable Transport and Logistics. Projects that make an impact towards sustainable transport, on the road or on water, excite me.

In my role as Business Developer for Sustainable Vehicles, my focus is on the sustainability of propulsion technologies for heavy transport vehicles, such as trucks, buses, off-road machines, and inland shipping, as well as stationary systems. My goal is to provide suitable solutions and, where possible, collaborative forms based on market demands from both industrial (private) and government (public) partners that contribute to the sustainability of mobility. In this capacity, I support our customers and partners, both in the Netherlands and abroad, in Europe and the rest of the world.

My research focuses on the transition towards an emission-free and efficient urban logistics system. In particular, I focus on innovative logistics concepts, technological innovations, clean vehicle technologies, policies and spatial planning. In this way, policymakers and companies in various sectors are supported in the transition towards logistics for liveable cities.

Automated Driving is not yet scalable enough, to rely on its performance and safety, in the variety of environments and traffic situations our world is presenting. To address this challenge, I design novel technological solutions and combine them into innovative automated vehicle systems. My team and I implement and test these prototypes.

'As a battery researcher my work mostly focusses on the optimal use of batteries in vehicles and mobility related applications, with the target of lifetime extension and TCO minimisation. This includes battery modelling, the development of estimation and control algorithms (e.g. optimal control of the battery charging process and the estimation of current and future states and performance) and the execution of validations testing of those. Part of these development and validation activities is the realisation of battery pack prototypes and the compliance with (new) regulation, like the inclusion of a battery passport.'

To accelerate the transition to climate neutral mobility, the development of self-learning control systems for sustainable powertrains is crucial to guarantee minimal energy consumption and operational costs over life time and to minimize development time and costs.

City logistics studies how urban freight distribution can take place in urban areas as well as the strategies that can improve its overall efficiency while mitigating externalities such as congestion and emissions.

In my role as a business developer, I work on establishing collaborations between TNO, governmental bodies, and industrial partners with the aim of developing combustion engines for renewable fuels such as hydrogen, methanol, and ammonia. These engines can be applied in the heavy-duty transport sector, as well as in inland shipping, coastal shipping, agriculture, and construction.

I work at the Innovation Center for Sustainable Powertrains (ICSP) in Helmond, where we have access to advanced development and testing capabilities for heavy engines. We have over 40 years of experience in engine development and conversion to new, fossil-free fuels.

'The shipping industry is like a big vessel: it takes time to change course, but when we are on route, we’re unstoppable'.

Jurrit Bergsma and his colleagues are looking for solutions to the challenges of making the shipping industry more sustainable. He does this as a scientist integrator and a PhD candidate, both for the shipping industry itself and the world in which we live.