Untitled - Ministerstwo Rozwoju Regionalnego

As for innovations aimed at using alternative fuels, the earliest ones focused
on replacement of traditional diesel oil with ethanol (the Swedish company Scania
is the leader in this area). The scope of alternative fuels has been widened
lately, and in longer perspective the following fuels can facilitate combustion engine
energy efficiency: HDRD (Hydrogenation-Derived Renewable Diesel);
ULSD (Ultra-low Sulfur Diesel); DMF (Dimetylofuran), obtained from biomass,
40% more effective than ethanol; DME (Dimethyl-Ether), very effective in diesel
engines, planned in the EU for 2030; other synthetic fuels: Gas to Liquids
(GTL), Coal to Liquids (CTL), Biomass to Liquids (BTL).
While in 2009 all the world carmakers had their own prototypes or concepts
of electric or hydrogen-powered cars, there were no mature concepts for
alternative-fuelled trucks. The first attempts to use electric propulsion took place
in the USA (container tractors in California seaports). The following prototypes
of hydrogen-powered trucks appear in publications and the Internet: • Hytruck
C8HE 15 , based on Mitsubishi Canter; • Tyrano HT 16 ; • Mercedes Hybrid Econic
NGT 2628 NLA 17 .
So far, truck producers have been and will keep introducing, numerous innovations
in vehicle construction. New concepts of trucks aim at solutions based
on universal technologies adjusted to the requirements of multimodal transport,
so that the following goals are reached: • shortening transhipment time of load
units within intermodal chains; • maximising transport safety and security of
transferred loading units; • popularising standards for European intermodal
loading unit transfer.
Transport innovations have a positive impact on the growth of the sector's
companies value, and in many cases – also on the growth in the value of companies
using more modern forms of transport. These issues are analysed by Danuta
Ruciñska in Chapter XIV.
The value of modern TL enterprises is built through mergers and strategic
alliances, separation of transport organisation functions from production activities
(rendering services), various forms of outsourcing enabling isolation of
some activities from core business activities. An innovative aspect on the
present-day market is horizontal or vertical links between interests of TL sector
companies and those of other sectors, particularly IT, industrial and capital sectors.
The links make it possible to utilise new options in service and delivery distribution,
seek contractors and clients, sell services on-line, monitor cargo and
mail in transit, shape new supply chains and make payments for purchased
services. They also enable market monitoring, market and marketing research,
shaping relations with the environment and multidimensional analyses of TL
15 HYTRUCK – http://www.hytruck.nl/EN/nieuws_item1.html.
16 Vision Industries Tyrano Plug-in Fuel Cell Big Rig Truck – http://www.hydrogencarsnow.com/
blog2/index.php/hydrogen-vehicles/vision-industries-tyrano-plug-in-fuel-cell-big-rig-truck.
17 Mercedes Hybrid Econic – http://www.daimler.com.
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