| Summary: | <p>With the rise of online grocery shopping, a centralized delivery model has the potential to improve sustainability. Growing demand though brings challenges to grocery retailers’ net-zero targets with many retailers’ sustainability plans detailing the transition to electric vehicles (EV) within logistics as essential. In this study, a feasibility analysis on replacing internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV) with EVs for Sainsbury's grocery delivery business in Oxfordshire was conducted. As grocery delivery has stricter timing requirements and considerations must be made for EV charging and load management, several methodologies were proposed and used in simulations.</p>
<p>Using Genetic Algorithms combined with Dynamic Programming for vehicle fleet route optimization, we were able to achieve optimizations of 48.8 % under the 4h Saver slot and 20.8 % under the 1h Standard slot. Furthermore, strategies were developed to optimise the number and type of EVs deployed at each store and the location of EV charging stations (EVCS). The optimal strategy provided a reduction of 458.8 km for daily fleet operation under the Saver slot. Emissions analysis shows that the initial deployment of the EV fleet results in 303.5 tons more greenhouse gas (GHG) than the ICE fleet. However, during operation, the accumulated GHG emissions of the ICE fleet exceed those of the EV fleet after the 4th year of deployment. Due to the battery and EVCS installation costs, the upfront cost of the EV fleet is €474,600 higher than the ICE fleet but would see operational cost savings of €609698 due to the lower cost of electricity. Technical, environmental, and economic analysis proved the feasibility of EV fleet deployment for Sainsbury’s grocery delivery business based on the specifications of existing electric vehicles and the current technologies & standards of EV charging. Increasing carbon prices and decreasing carbon intensity of electricity generation would expand the benefits of EV usage even further in the future.</p>
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