A public-private partnership platform has released promising road results using boat tails on trailers. The Dutch PART (Platform for Aerodynamic Road Transport) announced a 7.5 percent reduction in fuel consumption in testing conducted over the course of one year. PART’s ambition is to achieve a 20 percent reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in the road transport industry by 2020. A new generation of aerodynamic side skirts tested by the group is supposed to debut later this year.

Dutch Testing Yields 7.5 Percent Reduction in Fuel, Emissions

A boat tail, a tapering protrusion mounted on the rear of a truck, leads to fuel savings of 7.5 percent. This is due to dramatically-improved aerodynamics, as shown by road tests conducted by the Dutch PART (Platform for Aerodynamic Road Transport) public-private partnership platform.

Public highways

A boat tail is a tapering protrusion about two metres in length mounted on the rear of a truck. The boat tail had already proved itself during wind tunnel experiments and computer simulations, both conducted at TU Delft, in theory and using small-scale models. Now an articulated lorry fitted with a boat tail has also undergone extensive testing on public highways.

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