Solutions to improve energy efficiency
In a previous pilot study by Swedish Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering (JTI) it was estimated that more than 20 % of the diesel consumption in agriculture in Sweden was used for transportation. This follow-up project is focusing on innovative solutions to improve energy efficiency in agricultural logistics: (1) Shifting of arable land. (2) Planning tools to simulate, plan and optimize the logistics work on the farm. (3) Benchmark and KPIs for logistics work at the farm level to improve efficiency. The overall objective is to improve the efficiency of energy use in agricultural transports by 20 %. The study provides in-depth knowledge of the potential for agriculture to improve energy efficiency of their logistics. The project will be carried out in collaboration between researchers and companies.
Creative Optimization’s contribution
Creative optimization will be involved in project (1) Shifting of arable land and (2) Planning tools to simulate, plan and optimize the logistics work on the farm. Creative Optimization will develop a tool to optimize the shifting of arable land for project (1). As for project (2) Creative Optimization will contribute with market research of the current market in Scandinavia for advanced software tools in agriculture.
Project results
(1) Shifting of arable land. The optimization model was used in the project to simulate exchange on a large scale showcasing that if all land would be exchanged to optimality the potential in reduced transportation distance would be around 33-60 %. A more realistic alternative is when the exchange is done between only two parts, and the potential is then 10 %, corresponding to an annual energy saving of 35 GWh for the agriculture in Sweden.
(2) Planning tool for simulation and optimization. Existing planning tools have been investigated by first conducting a small literature study to find a model for categorizing different types of decisions that are made in crop cultivation in general. This model has then formed the basis for a mapping of systems available on the market, as well as a case study to investigate decision making and the use of decision support tools at a large farm.
If you want to know more about these projects, you can download the full reports by clicking on the link below :
