E-FLEET

E-FLEET is a modelling and optimization software developed by ServaTerra for Dunsky Energy Consulting. This tool identifies optimal financial strategies for businesses and governments who seek to electrify their fleet of gas-powered vehicles.

As part of an effort to achieve sustainability, private and public entities face emissions constraints and carbon taxation. One approach to minimizing these excess costs and meeting regulatory limitations is to replace a fleet of gas-powered vehicles with electric or hybrid alternatives. As a result, a primary question arises: What is the ideal timeline for transitioning a fleet of vehicles while meeting emissions targets with minimal capital and operating expenses?

E-FLEET addresses this problem by modelling the total cost of ownership (TCO) and total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the client’s fleet of vehicles. It then uses a custom optimization algorithm to compute when each gas-powered vehicle should be replaced and what type of electric vehicle it should be replaced with in order to minimize TCO and satisfy GHG targets.

As inputs, E-FLEET takes in all relevant vehicle, economic, and client information:

• Properties of the existing gas-powered fleet (e.g., sale prices and depreciation, vehicle age and mileage, annual usage and emissions rates, maintenance costs)

• Properties of electric alternatives (e.g., availability of electric/hybrid alternatives, sale prices and depreciation, effective emissions rates via electricity production, maintenance costs)

• Economic factors (e.g., gas and electricity pricing, carbon tax rates)

• Client constraints (e.g., emissions targets, annual budgets, time horizon for transitioning fleet)

As outputs, E-FLEET computes the following:

• A table listing the optimal date at which to sell each gas-powered vehicle along with the recommended electric vehicle to purchase

• Optimized annual GHG emissions over the client’s desired time horizon

• Optimized annual capital and operating expenses of the client’s desired time horizon

Since 2020, E-FLEET has been used by Dunsky Energy Consulting to serve a variety of clients in public and private sectors. The software has enabled their consultants to take on a greater number of clients with larger fleet sizes, leading to cost and time savings for their business. The product description in the Dunsky Energy Consulting website is available here.