World’s largest electric truck in Berlin

The world’s largest electric truck has taken its first trip from Berlin’s container terminal at the Westhafen inland port. Operated by BEHALA Westhafen, it is the first of its type on the city’s streets.

The world’s largest electric truck has taken its first trip from Berlin’s container terminal at the Westhafen inland port. Operated by BEHALA Westhafen, it is the first of its type on the city’s streets.

“As the operator of the busiest container terminal in the region, we want our logistics to be environmentally compatible and sustainable,” said BEHALA’s CEO Peter Stäblein. “This Terberg YT202 EV truck is letting us test new means of environmentally friendly transport.”
The truck is being run as part of the KV-E-Chain (intermodal transport e-chain ) project in the “Electromobility Showcase”. It will receive containers from the DHL logistics company at Westhafen and deliver them to various destinations in the city.

Project director Professor Herbert Sonntag from the Wildau University of Applied Sciences said that “the KV-E-Chain project is unique not only on account of the unusual size of this truck. It also demonstrates the first fully electric supply chain on the road, and therefore new possibilities for freight transport in densely populated areas.”

Foto_01

Guido Beermann, Permanent Secretary for the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Technology and Research, welcomed the project. “This electric truck shows that the state of Berlin is making ever more inroads into the forward-looking field of electromobility. I’m sure that this innovative and environmentally compatible logistics solution will set a successful example for urban mobility of the future.”

The Wildau University of Applied Sciences is directing the project and also providing scientific consulting. The new truck represents an early opportunity to study the general conditions required for electric vehicles of this size and to make recommendations for future development projects.

To ensure operations with zero emissions, an electric charging station is being installed on the Westhafen premises. Designed to be served by a solar power system, the station will be run by the Berlin Energy Agency (BEA), which is a project partner. BEA CEO Michael Geißler stated that “electromobility and energy from renewable sources are directly related, because this is the only way to achieve a reduction in CO2 emissions.”

Whereas electromobility has long been an established means of rail transport, it is still dependent on diesel vehicles for the road. With the final kilometers of transport now also electrified, the KV-E-Chain project is demonstrating the first fully electric long-distance supply chain.

“The KV-E-Chain showcase project illustrates that it is possible to shift the entire supply chain to electromobility,” said Thomas Meissner, the deputy director of the Berlin Agency for Electromobility eMO. “Electromobility is becoming an ever more established part of the urban landscape. Residents can already see and experience it in many locations.”

Foto_02

The KV-E-Chain project is one of 30 core projects in the “Berlin-Brandenburg International Showcase for Electromobility”, and is receiving funding of 870,000 euros from the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi).

In April 2012, the German Government selected four regions in the country to act as “Showcase Regions for Electric Mobility”. Based on a decision by the German Bundestag, research and development into alternative drive systems is to take place across each of these regions. The Federal Government is providing a total of €180 million in funding for these large scale demonstration and pilot projects. The aim is to test electric mobility within the overlapping systems of energy, vehicle, and transport. For further information, please visit www.schaufenster-elektromobilität.org (German language only).

For more information: www.kvechain.de