Maersk conducted two pilots to provide electric truck capabilities to customers in Brazil, supporting initiatives to decarbonise its customers’ supply chains in Latin America.
The pilots were conducted using heavy-duty tractor units capable of transporting containers (FCL). The two-week experiments went on in Brazil with two separate EV truck manufacturers.
Pilots were conducted in the metropolitan region of São Paulo on a 100 km span between Barueri – Barra Funda – São Bernardo do Campo (charging station) and in the state of Santa Catarina on a 230 km span between Itapoa – Araquari (round trip) to assess the feasibility of providing landside connectivity.
Maersk placed electric charging stations in its operations zones for the pilots to ensure night-time recharge. The reliance on logistics and land transportation on renewable energy sources is directly related to factors such as local infrastructure investment requirements and regulatory support.
In these circumstances, electric vehicles and alternative energy solutions are currently only available on a limited scale.
Also, the Danish company is prioritising electrification in heavy-duty trucks in conjunction with clients using 100% renewable power, as well as exploring one-time emission reduction possibilities within the modal change, to reach climate-neutral landside transportation solutions by 2040.
“This pilot will facilitate the test and development of sustainable solutions for our customers, that can help them deliver on their environmental and ESG objectives. In our journey to become net zero by 2040, Maersk will continue searching sustainable solutions in Latin America, to meet both the rising demand from our customers for cleaner end-to-end integrated logistics, as well as delivering on our own decarbonisation commitments,” stated Alexis Rodriguez, head of Energy Transition Execution for Latin America at Maersk.
