DHL Group is testing a groundbreaking electric truck equipped with an on-board fuel-powered generator to recharge its battery. This design aims to address a key barrier to electric vehicle (EV) adoption—lack of infrastructure for long-distance charging networks.
The truck, an Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV) developed by heavy vehicle manufacturer Scania, is being tested by DHL’s Post & Parcel Germany division on transport routes between Berlin and Hamburg. The trial began this month.
DHL highlights that while fully electric vehicles are the long-term solution for sustainable transport, they currently face several challenges, including limited charging points, high costs of ensuring sufficient charging capacity during peak seasons, and the strain on the grid during high electricity demand. The new EREV, jointly patented by DHL and Scania, aims to tackle these issues while enabling DHL to run 80% to 90% of its operations on renewable electricity.
DHL Group CEO Tobias Meyer said, “It will take time before renewable electricity, the grid, and charging infrastructure are robust enough for widespread use of battery-electric trucks, especially in large systems like our German parcel network. Rather than waiting for this to happen, we are collaborating with Scania on a practical solution that can immediately reduce CO2 emissions by more than 80% in freight transport.”
The innovative design replaces one of the truck’s battery packs with a fuel-powered generator. While this reduces the vehicle’s all-electric range, it ensures that the truck can refuel at conventional petrol stations, making it more versatile for long-haul journeys. The EREV has a range of 400 to 500 miles, compared to the 350-mile range of Scania’s fully electric truck with similar freight capacity.
Scania CEO Christian Levin added, “The future is electric, but we must accept interim solutions to accelerate the decarbonization of heavy transport. The vehicle we developed with DHL exemplifies how such solutions can help scale up efforts before the entire transport system is fully electrified. Effective climate transition requires policymakers to support these solutions while investing in public infrastructure.”
The test is part of DHL’s ongoing efforts to make logistics more sustainable while reducing greenhouse gas emissions in freight transport.
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