Three major groups are joining forces to fight climate change and launch the European Clean Transport Network Alliance (ECTN Alliance), a concrete solution to decarbonize road freight transport.

Mobilizing the expertise of its founding members—CEVA Logistics, ENGIE and SANEF—the ECTN Alliance envisions building and operating a network of truck terminals with low-carbon energy solutions to transport merchandise along Europe’s motorways. The disruptive system will be tailored to electric trucks’ limited range and charging requirements.

Long term, the terminal network will be open to all shippers and carriers, offering simple access to low-carbon biogas, hydrogen and electric energy solutions for charging and refueling trucks. Strategically placed on European motorways, the network will include a specific IT solution to enable transport companies to plan their routes and charging schedules in the fastest and most carbon-efficient way.

In addition, the concept aims at improving working conditions for long-haul truck drivers by allowing them to remain closer to their homes, as they will be swapping trailers at each terminal before turning back. ECTN’s solution will ultimately make the trucking industry more attractive and help alleviate the European truck driver crisis.

The Alliance will conduct a proof of concept (POC) in 2023 between the Lille and Avignon metropolitan areas in France to demonstrate the feasibility of the concept before deploying it on a European scale.

The two-year proof of concept will start in 2023 to demonstrate the ECTN model’s effects on long-distance road haulage. A dedicated fleet of 20 low-carbon tractor units (a mix of biogas, electric and green hydrogen) will transport 20 trailers each day between the north and southeast of France, relaying and changing trailers at five test sites located at existing CEVA Logistics locations.

Local carriers will carry out the pre- and post-carriage transport to and from the test sites. The POC is expected to provide a rich database for an in-depth understanding of low-carbon truck use for long-distance haulage and options for decarbonizing road freight transport in Europe.

Luc Nadal, Regional Managing Director for Europe, CEVA Logistics, said: “ECTN Alliance members strongly believe that private–public alliances have a key role to play in accelerating climate solutions. The ECTN Alliance is based on a pioneering, holistic approach to decarbonizing long-haul trucking. We are proud to launch this bold initiative with best-in-class companies, whose combined expertise will contribute to the success of the project.”

DB Schenker, one of the world’s leading logistics service providers, has been presented the first pilot Volta Zero truck taking part in the European field test and visited the Volta Trucks’ contract manufacturing facility in Steyr, Austria, to see the final prototype generation of the all-electric Volta Zero truck in pre-production. 150 Volta Trucks will be handed over to DB Schenker in 2023.

Cyrille Bonjean, Head of Land Transport at DB Schenker Europe, says: “Once again, DB Schenker is taking a pioneering role. As the market leader, we aspire to be the world’s number one provider of green logistics. We take responsibility for a reduction of emissions resulting from our fleet operations. The European field test of the Volta Zero Trucks is an important milestone for us and for Volta Trucks. The feedback of our drivers and carriers will be taken into account for the series production of the all-electric Volta Zero. With the on-boarding of the first 150 Volta Zero series production vehicles, we will be able to deliver emission-free with more than 330 eTrucks from 7,5t to 19t in 124 cities across 22 countries plus around 70 cargo bikes – an e-fleet unmatched in the freight forwarding market.”

Essa Al-Saleh, Chief Executive of Volta Trucks, continued: “Being able to welcome DB Schenker to our contract manufacturing facility in Steyr and show them, first-hand, the production progress of their first all-electric Volta Zero test vehicle, is extremely exciting. DB Schenker has joined us on the journey to decarbonization, and they’ve been able to experience and see the many safety and environmental advantages that the Volta Zero will bring to their urban logistics, and making our cities safer and more sustainable. Meeting with them in Steyr and being able to show them the actual vehicle that they’ll be testing in its build phases brings the whole experience to life, and is a significant step for all of us.”

The Volta Zero Production Verification prototype, which DB Schenker witnessed the build of in Steyr, will be one of a fleet of test trucks which the company will operate as part of a European field trial. The fleet of trucks will be used in DB Schenker’s European terminals to transport goods from distribution hubs to the city centres and urban areas. This is where the vehicle’s innovative design that uses a safety-oriented cab to protect vulnerable road users, as well as its zero-tailpipe emission drivetrain, will offer the greatest benefits.

In September 2022, DB Schenker and Volta Trucks successfully completed the very first on-road testing of the all-electric Volta Zero Design Verification prototype in Paris. This was part of an engineering development phase where no load could be carried. The next phase of testing will enable DB Schenker to operate the Volta Zero in real distribution environments carrying full payloads.

DB Schenker will be operating these test vehicles in 18 different cities across Europe and Scandinavia, including France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden & Norway.

The United States Postal Service awarded contracts for 9,250 commercially available left-hand drive battery electric vehicles as well as initial orders for more than 14,000 charging stations to be deployed at Postal Service facilities. These awards are consistent with the vehicle electrification strategy announced by USPS in December of 2022, accompanied by senior White House officials.

Overall, the Postal Service’s total investment in vehicles is expected to reach $9.6 billion, including $3 billion from Inflation Reduction Act funds. The December 2022 plan announced intended acquisitions over the next five years of a 75 percent electric fleet of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles. Acquisitions of NGDV after 2026 will be 100 percent electric. As part of the earliest stages of the delivery vehicle replacement plan, a contract for 9,250 commercial-off-the-shelf internal combustion engine vehicles will also be concurrently awarded to fill the urgent need for vehicles. The specific locations for deployment of the vehicles and infrastructure have not yet been finalized and will depend on route characteristics, including whether a left-hand drive vehicle is mission-suitable as well as other business considerations. The Postal Service plans to begin building out its charging infrastructure across a minimum of 75 locations within the next 12 months, and thereafter to continue the infrastructure build out in the succeeding years at many additional facilities as a part of our delivery vehicle electrification strategy.

“We are moving forward with our plans to simultaneously improve our service, reduce our cost, grow our revenue, and improve the working environment for our employees. Electrification of our vehicle fleet is now an important component of these initiatives,” said Louis DeJoy, Postmaster General. “We have developed a strategy that mitigates both cost and risk of deployment – which enable execution on this initiative to begin now. I again want to thank the Administration officials and members of Congress who have assisted us in this initiative. Each has shown genuine understanding that our movement toward electrification must be thoughtful and deliberate, must appropriately manage risk, and must be consistent with our primary delivery mission for the American people.”

Electric Vehicle Awards

After a competitive search, the Postal Service awarded a contract to purchase a total of 9,250 Ford E-Transit Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs). Delivery of the vehicles is intended to commence in December of this year, assuming successful completion of the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement that we announced we would undertake in August 2022, and the related issuance of our Record of Decision pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. These domestically sourced vehicles will be 100 percent electric and are part of the 21,000 COTS vehicles included in the Postal Service’s vehicle acquisitionplan announced in December 2022. The Ford E-Transit BEVs are manufactured in Kansas City, Missouri.

Electric Vehicle Charging Station Awards

To support the charging for all the newly purchased electric vehicles, both the COTS vehicles announced today and future acquisitions including NGDV, the Postal Service awarded competitive contracts to three suppliers for the purchase of more than 14,000 charging stations to establish an initial and ongoing Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) inventory. This EVSE inventory is the charging station hardware and software needed to support EV charging at the facilities from which the delivery vehicles will operate.

Steady Progress on Ongoing Commitment to Electrifying America’s Largest and Oldest Federal Fleet

The Postal Service has been steadfastly committed to the fiscally responsible and mission capable roll-out of electric-powered vehicles for America’s largest and oldest federal fleet. The agency has continually assessed its operational and infrastructure build-out capacity, financial position including IRA funds, and vehicle mix deployment over the past 12 months. The Postal Service anticipates that this commitment of funds by 2028 for both vehicles and charging infrastructure will result in a total of 66,230 electric delivery vehicles and an overall acquisition of 106,000 delivery vehicles. All awards in today’s announcement are contingent on the Postal Service’s satisfactory completion of National Environmental Policy Act requirements.