Renault Trucks electrifies its internal logistics

As a major player in the decarbonisation of transport, Renault Trucks is pursuing its initiatives by electrifying its internal logistics flows. The first phase of this project involves the electrification of axle transport between its Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse plants. The 450,000 km travelled each year between the two production sites are managed by Dupessey & Co and Transports Chazot using five 44-tonne electric vehicles, the Renault Truck E-Tech T.

“The solutions we offer our customers, we apply here at Renault Trucks.” This is how Renault Trucks could summarise its approach to the electrification of logistics, which has been running for a few days now.

Image: Renault Trucks

Thanks to the launch of the 44-tonne electric truck, which represents a real step forward in inter-regional and medium-distance distribution, the French manufacturer has decided to switch to Renault Trucks E-Tech T 4×2 tractors to deliver goods to the Bourg-en-Bresse plant.

In concrete terms, two partner carriers have been selected to carry out this task over the next six years: the Dupessey&Co group and Transports Chazot.

Five electric trucks, each loaded with 22 tonnes of equipment, will make two round trip journeys (360 km) every day to deliver the axles, produced in Lyon, to the Bourg-en-Bresse plant where the heavy trucks are assembled.

Depending on the flow of goods, the number of deliveries can be increased, with up to seven trucks on the road in one day. The trucks require an intermediate charge of 45-50 minutes once a day at the Lyon location, where a charging station has been set up especially for this purpose. The vehicles are also charged every evening at the depots of the two carriers.

Thanks to the electrification of logistics, 440,000 kilometers can be covered with electric vehicles, saving 375 tons of CO2 per year.

The manufacturer aims to be an example for industry players and its customers by applying the low-carbon mobility solutions it offers them to its own operations.

Before electrifying the logistics flows between Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse, the feasibility of the project had to be studied. To do this, the Renault Trucks teams used the same software as their customers, namely the Range Simulator. This calculates where, when and for how long charging is needed, based on four main parameters: use of the truck, its load and equipment, the outside temperature and the topography.

Once this diagnosis is completed, the required positioning of the charging facilities is determined to ensure optimal use. As a result, two 360 KW terminals (each with 2 charging points) have been installed on the Saint-Priest site to manage the intermediate loads for the various trucks in optimal conditions.

“We have worked long and hard to electrify this first logistics route, choosing axes between Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse, as this is a flow typical of Renault Trucks’ activities, with very high operational constraints, particularly in terms of output and precision. The launch of this project is a further illustration of our expertise in decarbonising mobility,” said Bruno Blin, President of Renault Trucks. Here at Renault Trucks, this kind of project helps us build a new transport model. Our goal for 2030 is to electrify our logistics on a large scale, with all flows between our production sites using electric vehicles.”

Renault Trucks is currently working on the electrification of around ten other logistics flows, which should be operational in the coming months and years, thanks in particular to a system of relay vehicles that will allow electric trucks to be deployed over increasingly longer distances.