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Relay mobility in long-haul trucking optimizing energy efficiency and community engagement

Award Information
Agency: Department of Energy
Branch: N/A
Contract: DE-SC0022888
Agency Tracking Number: 0000266163
Amount: $206,468.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: C54-07h
Solicitation Number: N/A
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2022
Award Year: 2022
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2022-06-27
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2023-06-26
Small Business Information
409 SW A STREET
BENTONVILLE, AR 72712
United States
DUNS: 117619038
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Aayush Thakur
 (608) 609-2161
 aayush@fr8relay.com
Business Contact
 Aayush Thakur
Phone: (608) 609-2161
Email: aayush@fr8relay.com
Research Institution
N/A
Abstract

The conventional point-to-point long-haul trucking model, coupled with federal Hours of Service
regulations, causes equipment and cargo to spend as much as half the shipping time idling roadside and
forces trucks to drive a significant proportion of “empty miles”. This contributes 48-64 tons of wasted
carbon based emissions and 3,500-4,500 gallons of wasted diesel fuel per truck annually. The same
constraints limiting freight capacity cause truck drivers to spend a significant amount of unpaid time on
the road, creating a mentally and physically exhausting profession with limited monetary reward. As a
result, the industry has a gap in human capacity (long-haul truck drivers) that collectively costs $8+
billion annually and compromises the sustainability of the entire trucking industry.
The proposed mobility solution is a software technology that pools shipments and matches tractors and
drivers with trailers and cargo in a relay model to ensure equipment and cargo keep moving while
returning drivers home daily. The relay model presents a compelling alternative to the conventional
point-to-point method by eliminating the unnecessary truck idle time built into supply chains. This
technology is supported by a machine learning based, predictive analytics module that anticipates
dynamic day-to-day relay disruptions and recommends mitigation strategies. Preliminary evidence
suggests that implementing such a model with relay exchange nodes located in economically distressed
rural communities along major trucking corridors could provide significant local economic opportunities
while improving working conditions for the long-haul trucking workforce. Phase I focuses on engaging
relay trucking stakeholders in three rural communities to test this hypothesis and collect critical end-user
and community design inputs.
A successful Phase I project with input from economically distressed communities along a trucking
corridor creates the foundation for Phase II, an environmentally-informed pilot of live trucks and drivers
on a trucking lane engaging one or more of these communities as rural relay nodes. Future applications
of the proposed mobility solution include software-as-a-service licensing for large fleets and a relay
brokerage platform for small carriers and owner-operators. Early analysis suggests significant benefits for
both environment and businesses: 1) reduced carbon based emissions from idling trucks and empty
backhauls (48-64 tons/truck/year); 2) reduced shipping time (up to 50%); 3) reduced costs from wasted
fuel ($10,500-$13,500/truck/year); and 4) reduced energy dependence by eliminating aforementioned
fuel waste (3,500-4,500 gallons/truck/year). Furthermore, a relay trucking model would double asset
utilization, cut delivery times in half, and decrease the high cost of truck driver turnover.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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