Green logistics: e-truck pilot project at ZEISS

We had to think a little bigger – no, it's not an electric car, but an electric truck! The electrically powered MAN eTGM will be hitting the road today for ZEISS as part of the vehicle fleet run by Schwarz Logistik GmbH. ZEISS is using the pilot project – which is being monitored by Aalen University – to test the suitability of electric commercial vehicles as part of the company's logistics. This constitutes yet another step on the road to greater sustainability for ZEISS Logistics.

The new e-truck's first mission is to supply the Production departments at ZEISS in Oberkochen. Goods must be transported between the sites between the individual production steps. The battery electric MAN eTGM truck run by Schwarz Logistik GmbH will thus shuttle between Herbrechtingen and Oberkochen three to four times a day during the test phase in order to deliver the preliminary products needed at any given time by the ZEISS Production departments. The e-truck will be charged at a charging station on a ramp at the logistics center while goods are loaded onto it. The 185 kWh battery will therefore provide enough power to make the journey from Oberkochen and back four times. The e-truck's environmental footprint – the truck actually produces zero emissions – will determine how the power supply is generated. As much power as possible will thus be sourced from the solar panels on the roof of the logistics center.

The hope is that e-trucks will enable goods to be transported completely emissions-free to and from the ZEISS sites, with very little noise pollution, too. The company is currently building a high-tech site at its founding location in Jena. The e-truck project with Schwarz Logistics will therefore also function as a test for this new site in Jena and for logistics as a whole at ZEISS.

The University of Aalen, as an academic partner, will monitor and evaluate the use of the e-truck during ongoing operations. The aim is to determine how the use of the e-truck can be optimized, particularly in terms of its utilization, routes and place of deployment, in order to identify application areas for using the e-truck as part of the existing logistics infrastructure. The goal is to deploy a workable, emissions-free transportation solution at ZEISS in an effort to further drive sustainability at ZEISS.

ZEISS is planning to conduct a further test to determine the extent to which self-driving cars could improve the current traffic situation. This demands that we take a holistic look at the situation, the transport links between sites, and sustainable logistics. The road to greater sustainability at the company comprises many building blocks – and optimization of logistics with regard to environmental sustainability is just one of these.

ZEISS firmly believes that business success and entrepreneurial responsibility go hand in hand. As a foundation-owned company, ZEISS promotes scientific and technological progress, and campaigns for better living conditions worldwide.

At ZEISS, taking responsibility includes having clear goals and comprehensive measures to prevent climate change: In a bid to further drive climate protection at ZEISS, the company aims to be carbon neutral by 2022. ZEISS intends to do this by purchasing verifiably green energy, and by offsetting unavoidable emissions.

The concept created jointly by Schwarz Logistik GmbH and ZEISS foresees a possible Green Logistics vehicle fleet. This is an interesting option for ZEISS and a building block on the road to proactively making the entire company more sustainable.