Schmitz Cargobull welcomes EcoDuo pilot project in Germany
Start of the one-year pilot project to optimise pre-carriage and on-carriage in combined transport.
September 2024 – In early September, a project group made up of German and Spanish companies and led by the German Automobile Industry Association (VDA) launched a one-year pilot project using the EcoDuo vehicle combination to optimise pre-carriage and on-carriage in combined transport. After a positive experience with similar projects in Spain and Scandinavia, the long truck concept is now due to be trialled in Germany with several goals, including reducing the carbon footprint in the transport chain.
The EcoDuo is a vehicle combination where two standard semi-trailers are pulled with just one truck. Connected by a dolly, the EcoDuo reaches a total length of 31.70 metres. The standard semi-trailers can be easily loaded onto trains unlike long trucks, whose semi-trailer dimensions deviate from the standard size.
Andreas Schmitz, CEO of Schmitz Cargobull: “Unlike previous long-truck concepts, existing semi-trailers can continue to be used without any expensive investments. When modern semi-trailers equipped with the latest axle and brake technology are used, the EcoDuo complies with all safety standards. The EcoDuo combination is ideally suited to combined transport and directly reduces the carbon emissions per transported tonne in road traffic.”
The EcoDuo is a vehicle combination where two standard semi-trailers are pulled with just one truck. Connected by a dolly, the EcoDuo reaches a total length of 31.70 metres. The standard semi-trailers can be easily loaded onto trains unlike long trucks, whose semi-trailer dimensions deviate from the standard size.
Andreas Schmitz, CEO of Schmitz Cargobull: “Unlike previous long-truck concepts, existing semi-trailers can continue to be used without any expensive investments. When modern semi-trailers equipped with the latest axle and brake technology are used, the EcoDuo complies with all safety standards. The EcoDuo combination is ideally suited to combined transport and directly reduces the carbon emissions per transported tonne in road traffic.”
EcoDuo combination ideal for combined transport
During the one-year pilot phase in Germany, the EcoDuo will travel between the Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg and the MegaHub, located 70 kilometres away in Lehrte near Hannover.
The Volkswagen Group is providing the fixed transport route; prior to the project, the route was served exclusively by HGVs taking production containers between Wolfsburg and Spain. Now, the global logistics provider Sesé will be driving the EcoDuo from the VW plant to the terminal in Lehrte, which is run by two German transshipment companies Deutsche Umschlaggesellschaft Schiene-Straße and Kombiverkehr.
From there, the semi-trailers will be transported 1,700 kilometres by rail to Spain using Kombiverkehr KG’s network for environmentally friendly transport. At a transshipment station in Barcelona, the individual semi-trailers will be connected to an EcoDuo combination again and then transported on the road by Sesé until they reach their destination. TÜV-Rheinland is supervising the pilot project with regard to road traffic regulations and academic aspects.
Using real-life operations as its basis, the one-year pilot project aims to assess the opportunities and risks of the EcoDuo vehicle combination and calculate the potential savings on the road and at terminals. The results of the pilot project will be summarised in a final report.
Andreas Schmitz: “With the cooperation of all the partners involved, we have built a broad foundation for this pilot project. It is a great starting point for achieving a high level of general acceptance. With the EcoDuo, we are underlining our European outlook as the vehicle meets most common standard dimensions and can be easily used for intermodal transport, including on trains. That is why we regard the EcoDuo as an environmentally and economically efficient transport solution for use across Europe.”
When compared to a conventional truck and one trailer with a 40 tonnes total articulated vehicle weight, the EcoDuo concept offers the following advantages:
- Reduced fuel consumption and, as a result, lower carbon emissions per transported tonne
- Lower single axle loads
- Increased road capacity or reduction of traffic due to the use of fewer vehicles with more capacity
- Less strain on roads and bridges due to lower axle loads and fewer articulated vehicles
- Solution to the driver shortages – One driver, two semi-trailers for long-haul journeys.
The EcoDuo from the pilot project will be on show at the IAA TRANSPORTATION 2024 at booth T81 outdoors.
Find out about the EcoDuo and the pilot project: https://schmitz.cargobull.com/ecoduo-en
The Volkswagen Group is providing the fixed transport route; prior to the project, the route was served exclusively by HGVs taking production containers between Wolfsburg and Spain. Now, the global logistics provider Sesé will be driving the EcoDuo from the VW plant to the terminal in Lehrte, which is run by two German transshipment companies Deutsche Umschlaggesellschaft Schiene-Straße and Kombiverkehr.
From there, the semi-trailers will be transported 1,700 kilometres by rail to Spain using Kombiverkehr KG’s network for environmentally friendly transport. At a transshipment station in Barcelona, the individual semi-trailers will be connected to an EcoDuo combination again and then transported on the road by Sesé until they reach their destination. TÜV-Rheinland is supervising the pilot project with regard to road traffic regulations and academic aspects.
Using real-life operations as its basis, the one-year pilot project aims to assess the opportunities and risks of the EcoDuo vehicle combination and calculate the potential savings on the road and at terminals. The results of the pilot project will be summarised in a final report.
Andreas Schmitz: “With the cooperation of all the partners involved, we have built a broad foundation for this pilot project. It is a great starting point for achieving a high level of general acceptance. With the EcoDuo, we are underlining our European outlook as the vehicle meets most common standard dimensions and can be easily used for intermodal transport, including on trains. That is why we regard the EcoDuo as an environmentally and economically efficient transport solution for use across Europe.”
When compared to a conventional truck and one trailer with a 40 tonnes total articulated vehicle weight, the EcoDuo concept offers the following advantages:
- Reduced fuel consumption and, as a result, lower carbon emissions per transported tonne
- Lower single axle loads
- Increased road capacity or reduction of traffic due to the use of fewer vehicles with more capacity
- Less strain on roads and bridges due to lower axle loads and fewer articulated vehicles
- Solution to the driver shortages – One driver, two semi-trailers for long-haul journeys.
The EcoDuo from the pilot project will be on show at the IAA TRANSPORTATION 2024 at booth T81 outdoors.
Find out about the EcoDuo and the pilot project: https://schmitz.cargobull.com/ecoduo-en
À propos de Schmitz Cargobull
Schmitz Cargobull est le premier fabricant européen de semi-remorques pour le transport de marchandises à température contrôlée, de marchandises générales et de marchandises en vrac, et un pionnier des solutions numériques pour les services aux remorques et l'amélioration de la connectivité. L'entreprise fabrique également des machines de réfrigération de transport pour les semi-remorques réfrigérées destinées au transport de marchandises à température contrôlée. Avec une gamme complète de services allant du financement, de la fourniture de pièces détachées, des contrats de service et des solutions télématiques au commerce de véhicules d'occasion, Schmitz Cargobull accompagne ses clients dans l'optimisation de leur coût total de possession (TCO) et de leur transformation numérique. Schmitz Cargobull a été fondée en 1892 dans le Münsterland, en Allemagne. L'entreprise familiale produit environ 60 000 véhicules par an avec plus de 6 000 employés et a généré un chiffre d'affaires d'environ 2,6 milliards d'euros pour l'exercice 2022/23. Le réseau de production international comprend actuellement dix usines en Allemagne, en Lituanie, en Espagne, en Angleterre, en Turquie, en Slovaquie et en Australie.
L'équipe presse de Schmitz Cargobull :
| Anna Stuhlmeier: | +49 2558 81-1340 I anna.stuhlmeier@cargobull.com |
| Andrea Beckonert: | +49 2558 81-1321 I andrea.beckonert@cargobull.com |
| Silke Hesener: | +49 2558 81-1501 I silke.hesener@cargobull.com |
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Image: Pilot project EcoDuo
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Press Release: Schmitz Cargobull welcomes EcoDuo pilot project in Germany
