Alternative Energy Solutions

The Alternative Energy Solutions trend has been a high priority for ground transportation in the last few years and clean last-mile transportation solutions are already being used at scale. DHL in Germany, for example, has already electrified around 20,000 vehicles, a third of its delivery fleet, and uses 19,000 e-bikes and e-trikes for end customer delivery.

Car makers are now developing electrified last-mile delivery solutions; for example, Fiat's e-Ducato has a range of 280 km (174 miles) in mixed traffic.

However, it is a different situation for middle-mile and long-haul transportation. Although there are some electrification developments, these are still restricted by range limitations and insufficient charging infrastructure. Truck electrification is being driven by established companies such as Volvo, the e-mobility frontrunner Tesla, with its Semi model, and start-ups such as Nikola.

Another alternative energy solution is hydrogen for middle-mile and long-haul trucks. Next to start-ups such as UK-based Tevva and US-based Hyzon, DHL is testing VDL’s hydrogen-powered trucks in real logistics applications in the Benelux countries as part of the H2-Share initiative in collaboration with Apple. The overarching long-term goal is to scale up these low-carbon heavy-duty commercial vehicles.

Although many start-ups and established companies are active in this field, middle-mile and long-haul solution development is typically in pilot phase or will take a few more years before production sites can meet market demand at scale.

In 2021, global carbon emissions from aviation accounted for 2.5 % of total CO₂ emissions, which is roughly equivalent to Germany's total CO₂ emissions.

For air cargo, the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is currently the most promising solution for emissions reduction but availability and high cost are barriers to widespread adoption. SAF is fuel from renewable sources such as biomass, animal fats, oils, and, alcohol which can be blended with conventional kerosene. Initiatives like the Clean Skies for Tomorrow Coalition, led by the World Economic Forum, bring together stakeholders across the aviation industry to drive carbon-neutral flying in future, leveraging the availability and use of SAF.

DHL Express announced two of the largest deals related to SAF in 2022. Its cooperation with bp and Neste will secure 800 million liters (211 million gallons) of SAF for DHL Express by 2026 and further advance DHL's sustainability strategy.

In addition to SAF, electric engines will also be an attractive propulsion method for air freight transportation of the future. The Alice electric aircraft from the Israeli start-up Eviation, scheduled for market launch in 2024, can be used for short-haul domestic flights and is likely to become a viable sustainable solution for national and even regional air transportation. Therefore, DHL Express has ordered twelve airplanes with a range of 815 km (506 mi) to kick-off the electrification of its fleet.

Another area of sustainable aviation research is the use of hydrogen fuel. Start-ups like H2FLY and ZeroAvia are working on promising concepts but experts do not expect commercial application of sub-regional and regional hydrogen fuel cell aircraft before 2030.

Many developments are underway to enable sustainable aviation but they are associated with high research and development (R&D) investments and infrastructure costs. While progress is being made, especially with SAF, fully sustainable aviation remains a long way off.

Research into alternative energy solutions for ocean freight is driven by new regulations such as those of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which has pledged to reduce carbon emissions by at least 40% by 2030 compared with 2008 levels.

One transitional option is the use of biofuel which, according to studies by the US Department of Energy and the Department of Transportation, could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 93% depending on the biofuel composition. However, the production of biofuel for maritime transport currently faces economic and infrastructural obstacles.

In addition to biofuels, conceptual solutions could become game-changers in the long term, such as the Oceanbird concept from the Swedish company Wallenius Marine. This uses air as the main source of energy; the vessel has aerodynamic masts, which are conceptually based on aircraft wings, that almost eliminate the need to use conventional fossil fuels.

Another long-term solution that can play a major role in decarbonizing maritime transportation is liquid hydrogen. Currently, there are no scalable solutions for hydrogen-powered cargo ships but the example of Norway’s MF Hydra, the world’s first hydrogen-powered ferry, provides evidence and insights for future cargo ship applications.

Government and other regulations such as those from the IMO are driving the development of alternative energy solutions for ocean freight, with biofuel most likely to be used as a transitionary technology before both wind and hydrogen solutions become viable in the long term.

Alternative energy solutions are also needed for sensors in logistics, particularly for tracking and monitoring environmental influences on packaging and containers.

A major sensor problem, especially for microsensors, is battery life. One potential solution is to harvest energy from each sensor’s direct environment (from light, movement, and radio waves). The start-up Wiliot specializes in harvesting radio frequency waves from Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and other 2.4-GHz connectivity technologies via its stamp-sized Internet of Things (IoT) device.

Another sensor solution has been developed by researchers at the University of Massachusetts. Called the Air-gen, it uses a natural protein that produces electricity from ambient humidity and is expected to find future application in wearable electronic devices such as health monitors, smartwatches, and cell phones.

Further developments in the field of energy harvesting sensor technology are likely to bring additional and above all scalable solutions to solve problems in the field of energy supply for small electronic devices and sensors.