The MODALES consortium partners met this month for the project’s 8th General Assembly meeting. This long-awaited in-person meeting was the occasion for the partners to discuss the next steps of the project to be achieved before the final event in 2023. The meeting took place in Espoo, Finland, and was hosted by MODALES partner VTT.
During the meeting, the partners presented the latest technical developments and discussed the steps required for a successful outcome of the project, now that its duration has been extended to May 2023.
Project partner LIST in Luxembourg updated the consortium on the progress of the finalisation of the MODALES app, which will provide real-time driving assistance for low-emission driving by collecting information provided by the car and the driver and using a scoring algorithm developed by partner Okan University. The app will produce specific recommendations to drivers and will be tested in the trial sites of the project (currently operating at baseline level with data collection only). This, coupled with online training videos, aims to generate a positive change in driver behaviour. Our plans for user feedback collection, data analysis and impact assessment were further developed, as these will be the major tasks of the project towards the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023.
Project partner Proventia presented the main outcomes of their work on diesel retrofits, where after-treatment allowed a 65-70% cut in emissions from buses and vans. However this is largely a transition solution that works on older vehicles: most buses (in Western Europe at least) are Euro 5 emissions level or more, also increasingly they are electric or hydrogen.
The participants also visited VTT’s laboratory, which includes chassis dynamometer environments for both light-duty vehicles and heavy-duty vehicles, allowing exhaust emission and drivetrain performance related testing in different driving conditions (as described in Chapter 5 of MODALES Deliverable 3.1 on Emission measurements). The PEMS-device used in the MODALES-project was also displayed in the laboratory.
Looking ahead, MODALES will participate in several events this autumn, including the FIA International Best Young Driver 2022 in Madrid, the final conference of sister project DIAS on 25 October in Brussels and the TRA (Transport Research Arena) 2022 in Lisbon. Make sure to watch this space for more to come in the next months!