ECTN Alliance: carbon-free road freight transport

infographie ECTN

To respond to the environmental emergency, we have joined forces with three major French groups to create the ECTN Alliance (European Clean Transport Network Alliance), a concrete solution for the energy transition of road freight transport in Europe.

Alliance ECTN - Groupe Sanef

vMobilizing the expertise of its three founding members CEVA Logistics, ENGIE and the Sanef group, the ECTN alliance plans to build and operate a network of terminals dedicated to heavy goods vehicles, with low-carbon energy supply solutions for the transport of goods on European motorways. This unique system responds to the autonomy limits, reinforced by the load constraints, of electric trucks.

Eventually, the network of truck terminals will be open to all shippers and carriers, offering easy access to low-carbon biogas, hydrogen and electric power solutions for charging and refueling trucks. Strategically articulated on European motorways, the network of terminals will integrate a specific IT solution to allow transport companies to plan their routes and their charging times in the fastest and most carbon-efficient way.

A French experiment will be carried out between Lille and Avignon during 2023, to demonstrate the feasibility of the concept before deploying it on a European scale.

The experiment, planned over two years, will begin in 2023 in order to validate the effects on long-distance road transport, with low-carbon trucks from the ECTN model. A dedicated fleet of 20 low-carbon tractors (a mix of biogas, electricity and green hydrogen) will transport 20 trailers daily between the North and South-East of France, relaying and changing trailers at five terminals test on existing CEVA Logistics sites.

Local carriers will pre- and post-shipment to and from test sites. This experimentation will provide a rich database for an in-depth understanding of the use of low-carbon trucks for long-haul transport and options to decarbonize road freight transport in Europe.