E-mobility concepts for emission-free, temperature-controlled freight
From 2025, many journeys, especially in inner-city distribution transport, will take place in so-called ‘Zero Emission Zones’. To serve these needs, Schmitz Cargobull has developed the all-electric S.KOe COOL SMART semi-trailer and is currently conducting corresponding test drives at well-known food logistics companies in Germany and abroad.
Peter Leegstraten, Manager Transport Expertise at Albert Heijn, explains: “We decided on this vehicle because most of our transport takes place in inner-city distribution traffic and we also serve routes between different distribution centres. In many Dutch cities, distribution transport is characterised by ‘Zero Emission Zones’ in inner cities, which will be introduced from 2025. “Schmitz Cargobull offers a solution with its all-electric refrigerated box S.KOe, so that we can continue to drive into inner cities without any problems with the electric refrigerator, in combination with a zero emission tractor unit.”
Drazan Malesevic, Managing Director of STI (Deutschland) GmbH, says: “We don't just want to raise awareness that something needs to change, we want to be proactive and use technological solutions to significantly reduce our CO2 emissions. That's why we decided early on to use an all-electric S.KOe refrigerated box from Schmitz Cargobull.” Oliver Exner, Senior Operations Manager at STI, adds: “In practical use, we want to understand how the trailer works and, through consistent data collection over the next two years, determine how sustainable the e-Trailer is in our business segment, taking into account the highest qualitative requirements. Here we are working closely with Schmitz Cargobull. If the test deployment is successful, we will equip the majority of our fleet with e-trailers in the future. This means that up to 200 trailers will rightly bear the ‘Zero Emission’ logo.”
The S.KOe COOL SMART is equipped with an electric axle as well as an electric refrigeration machine with integrated power electronics and battery system and thus operates completely emission-free. The Piek-certified vehicle operates extremely quietly and thus enables delivery in the early morning hours as well as in the late evening.
The purely electrically operated S.CUe refrigeration unit with integrated power electronics and without a combustion engine is designed for emission-free cooling and heating of the load. This is possible without restriction in cooling (up to 15,900 W) and heating (9,100 W). Instead of the diesel tank, batteries are installed on the support wind turbine for this purpose.
In addition, the vehicle is equipped with an electrified Schmitz Cargobull trailer axle which recuperates energy during braking processes and thus reduces the recharging times of the battery via the power grid. This also reduces waiting times at the distribution centres. Intelligent battery charge management ensures that the battery charge level is kept as high as possible to provide a high level of safety in standstill situations, such as traffic jams. The power class of the electrified axle is precisely matched to the needs of the refrigeration machine. The system is fully integrated into the Schmitz Cargobull telematics, so that the respective system status, e.g battery charge status, remaining range, remaining charging time, etc, can be monitored via the telematics portal.