Public Transport Vehicle Recycling and Valorisation CSS
Technology Description
Pilot 4 addresses the transformation from traditional linear processes towards the adoption of circular economy principles, focusing on the electrification of vehicles, the integration of renewable energy, the extension of assets lives through circular approaches, the optimisation of the use of batteries, the valorisation of waste and the exploration of waste and side streams as potential resources.
CSSBoost tools and frameworks facilitate that transformation process: the TRACK System empowers the collection of indicators and metrics from CARRIS’s operations addressing energy consumption, emission of greenhouse gases, and waste management, displaying intuitive dashboards on key performance indicators to support decision-making on sustainable practices. The Data Acquisition and Management System (DAMS) simplifies and expedites the ingestion of Pilot 4 data from CARRIS’s ICT framework, through TRACK, into the CSSBoost Digital Platform. Providing the virtualisation of the value chains, the Process Simulation Model and the Digital Twin tools allow to explore different scenarios, by adjusting different metrics and KPIs to improve circularity and asset valorisation. In this process, AI Services may assist with specific operations, such as predictive maintenance, and data analysis for identifying relevant patterns or trends leading to supply chain transparency, optimal resource management, and waste reduction and valorisation.
Challenges Encountered
During the Pilot 4 preparation actions, a small number of challenges were identified. On the technical perspective, it became clear the absence of interoperability readiness in the existing CARRIS ICT infrastructure, which affected the processes of automated acquisition of key measurements and indicators and of data harmonisation for ingesting into the CSSBoost Platform and tools. This challenge has been addressed with the implementation of the TRACK System and the DAMS, which uses dedicated APIs to capture relevant Pilot 4 data and send it to the CSSBoost Platform and tools. On the implementation side, it was observed a limited in-house knowledge about the specific operations of vehicle manufacturers and waste operators, which are also bound to abide to strict European-wide regulations and associated certification requirements. This limitation presented a challenge to the gathering of data and information concerning Pilot 4’s value chains 1 and 3. As a result, CARRIS and PARTICLE have drafted a plan to early engage those specific stakeholders, scheduling a series of semi-structured interviews with bus manufacturers and waste management operators that are CARRIS’s suppliers to build enhanced know-how of the sustainability and circular practices implemented by these stakeholders that have impact on the CSSBoost Pilot approach.
Duration and Phases
The implementation of the pilot activities for Pilot 4, focusing on the recycling and valorisation of public transport vehicles, will follow a structured worktime plan aligned with the overall CSSBoost pilot timeline.
Operational activities are set to begin in Month 16 (September 2025) with the activation of Task 5.5, which marks the formal start of the Lisbon-based pilot. The Pilot unfolds throughout three main phases: 1) Pilot preparation, involving the setup of the pilot with the selection of the buses to be monitored, the selection of relevant metrics and KPIs and the process of data acquisition, and the deployment of the TRACK System and of the DAMS to facilitate the ingestion of data into the CSSBoost Platform; 2) Pilot execution, dedicated to the monitoring of a set of 15 buses using diesel, compressed natural gas and electric technologies, and the collection and display of relevant operational data, including energy consumption, greenhouse gases emission, waste production, and maintenance activity, to build intuitive dashboards in the TRACK System to inform decision-making on sustainable and circular economy strategies, processes and measures; and 3) Pilot analysis, centred on the assessment of the reliability and validity of measurements, evaluating the quality and flow of the data, and extracting relevant conclusions and findings on the overall pilot activities, their sustainability performance, and alignment with the proposed pilot objectives.
The completion of each of the pilot phases is accompanied by four key milestones: 1) the completion of the Pilot 4 setup and of the TRACK System deployment in November 2025; 2) the completion of the Pilot 4 mid-term assessment in June 2026; 3) the completion of the Pilot 4 activities in November 2026; and 4) the completion of the Pilot 4 results assessment analysis in April 2027.
Results So Far
As the preparation of the pilot activities unfolded, initial findings have been leveraged into specific new opportunities to support circular economy practices, improving the sustainability of CARRIS’s business.
One of the initial findings refers to the removal and re-use of parts (such as engines, transmissions, alternators, starter motors, doors, window shields, seats, tires) from end-of-life vehicles to support the maintenance of operational buses. Promoted by the EU’s End-of-Life Vehicle Directive, this practice enables to extend the lifetime of buses in operation and improving components’ valorisation, while saving maintenance costs, but it requires specialised dismantling expertise and adherence to safety and environmental standards to ensure a safe and effective implementation. In the course of the Pilot 4 activities, there will be an effort to track and report on this practice, as a strategy to bring circularity between the Pilot value chains 2 (Bus Service Life) and 3 (End-of-Life Vehicle Valorisation).
Another initial finding involved the opportunity to use a water recycling system to clean the used water from bus washes and cleaning for reuse, using biological treatment and filtration to remove dirt and sludge, significantly reducing CARRIS’s water consumption. The reclaimed water is then stored for subsequent washes, offering both financial and environmental benefits. Throughout the execution of the Pilot 4 activities, a dedicated attention will be placed in monitoring the impact of the water recycling system.