Impact of different energy types of military vehicles on the supply chain

Abstract

The Dutch Ministry of Defence (NLMoD) has stated the goal of reducing dependency on fossil fuels by at least 20% by the year 2030 and at least 70% by the year 2050 compared to the year 2010. Research in the NLMoD explores the possibility of changing diesel-fuelled vehicles and weapon platforms to alternative forms of energy such as electric or sustainable fuels. In these projects, the focus is on (part of) the vehicle or energy source itself, but the impact on the Military Supply Chain (MSC) is missing.

This research has developed a Mixed Integer Linear Programming model that can be used to gain insight into the impact of the energy type of tactical vehicles and weapon platforms on the MSC and therefore is able to see what energy type has the lowest impact on that MSC. The impact on the MSC is measured by minimizing the refuel time, number of supply trips, and CO2 equivalent emissions. The model can provide insight into what the minimal requirements of potential energy carriers and conversion devices should be in order to have a similar or better impact on the current diesel MSC. The model is based on the current supply chain of the NLMoD and is expanded with the use of APUs for vehicles, energy generation at Nodes, the use of small supply trucks as energy buffers, compatible supply material, and longer self-sufficient times. Combinations of these are looked at in different policies.

Results show the trend that energy types with lower CO2 equivalent emissions have higher refuel time and number of supply trips. An exception to this is HVO and HVO-electric series hybrid, which also have the least impact on the MSC. Energy types such as hydrogen and electric require huge improvements in energy density, fill speed, and FTW efficiency to come close to the results of current diesel.