DACHSER wins German federal competition for sustainable urban logistics
DACHSER’s innovation project for zero-emissions groupage deliveries in central Stuttgart has won a federal award for sustainable urban logistics in Germany. Svenja Schulze, German federal environment minister, presented the award to Stefan Hohm, Corporate Director Corporate Solutions, Research & Development, in Berlin.
Sustainable solutions are also desperately needed for heavy palleted goods shipments to city centers,” said Dr. Petra Seebauer, the publisher of industry journal “Logistik Heute” and CEO of EUREXPO. “By offering an integrated solution for Stuttgart that combines elements such as city hubs, electrically supported cargo bikes, electric trucks, and IT-controlled goods grouping and route planning, DACHSER has taken the initiative and is setting an important example for this market segment to follow.”
By offering an integrated solution for Stuttgart that combines elements such as city hubs, electrically supported cargo bikes, electric trucks, and IT-controlled goods grouping and route planning, DACHSER has taken the initiative and is setting an important example for this market segment to follow.
Dr. Petra Seebauer, the publisher of industry journal “Logistik Heute” and CEO of EUREXPOThe jury also praised the fact that the solution is designed to be transferable and reflects both social and commercial considerations.
DACHSER Emission-Free Delivery
DACHSER’s award-winning pilot project covers an area of some four square kilometers in central Stuttgart within which all groupage shipments to B2B and B2C customers are delivered with zero emissions. A FUSO eCanter all-electric light truck either delivers goods directly to customers or brings them to the microhub operated by partner VeloCARRIER. There, pallets are unloaded and shipments transferred to electrically supported cargo bikes for the delivery runs. DACHSER will integrate an all-electric 18-ton Daimler eActros into these operations as soon as the vehicle is available. The charge point for the electric truck is located at DACHSER’s Kornwestheim branch to the north of Stuttgart, which—like all the logistics provider’s branches in Germany—purchases 100 percent hydroelectric power. The electric trucks are driven by trainee truckers; this lets them get fully acquainted with electromobility from the outset.
DACHSER Emission-Free Delivery is built on a modular toolbox for city-center deliveries and can equally be implemented in other cities. Taking transportation as a whole—collection and line-haul are still performed with conventional diesel trucks—this new service reduces CO2 emissions per shipment by 24 percent, particulates emissions by 32 percent, and nitrogen oxide emissions by 26 percent.
“DACHSER Emission-Free Delivery in Stuttgart marks a promising start for us in city logistics. But there is still a long road ahead of us—for a start, we have to resolve issues surrounding the availability of trucks with alternative powertrains,” explains Stefan Hohm. “To get new, more sustainable city logistics off the ground, all the parties involved will have to work more closely together. We’re not looking to take a one-size-fits-all approach. Rather, we want to combine a range of solutions, each of them focused on optimizing deliveries, routes, and times.”
