DHL Parcel UK has taken delivery of six fully electric 16-tonnes Volvo trucks, which will hit the road in London from January 2023, and 30 Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Volvo tractor units that will start going into operation later in the year.
Both deployments are part of a €74m (£64m) UK investment in green heavy fleet in line with Deutsche Post DHL Group’s sustainability strategy. This marks another important step forward in DHL Parcel UK’s decarbonisation plans and Deutsche Post DHL Group’s commitment to achieve net-zero emissions logistics by 2050.
On the road to achieving this goal, the group will invest over €7bn (£6 bn) in sustainable fuel and clean technologies by 2030 alone. Converting the DHL fleet for pick-up, delivery and linehauls to either electric drives or sustainable fuel solutions is an important lever in this.
Peter Fuller CEO, DHL Parcel UK, said: “Our aim is to be at the forefront of change in UK road transport. Having zero emissions electric vehicles in our final mile heavy fleet is a major step forward in our vision of net zero logistics related emissions.”
The 16-tonne Volvo FL Electric Rigids are powered by four 200 kWh batteries which can run for 120 miles, carrying a maximum of 12 pallets weighing up to six tonnes. These will recharge overnight at strategic DHL Parcel locations in London for daily operations into the city centre.
As these are zero emission vehicles, they will not contribute any carbon or harmful emissions into the atmosphere. They will also be three star compliant to the London Direct Vision Standard having great all-round visibility and support the safety of all London’s road users.
Once commissioning of the Bio-LNG gas tank is complete and drivers have been trained how to safely re-fuel the 30 new Volvo FM LNG Tractors will be based at the DHL Parcel UK hub in Coventry. With a maximum reach of up to 400 miles per tank, they will be used on routes throughout the UK. When running on Bio-LNG the LNG tractor units emit 85% percent less CO2 emissions compared to a traditional Diesel engine with the same power output (460bhp).
Furthermore, last week [05 December] Deutsche Post DHL Group announced a partnership with Ford Pro which will see more than 2,000 electric delivery vans rolled out by the end of 2023.
