E-mobility: The long road to net zero emissions
By Marcus Schick I 3 minute read
16/04/2026
Since 2022, DACHSER has been researching different aspects of e-mobility in logistics at three e-mobility sites. What’s next for the project? Answers from Stefan Hohm, Chief Development Officer at DACHSER.
Mr. Hohm, DACHSER has been gaining e-mobility experience since 2018 with its DACHSER Emission-Free[r1] Delivery concept. What else should the E-Mobility Sites project achieve?
Stefan Hohm: The objective was to research new electric drive concepts in the transportation sector. We started with the first generation of smaller e-trucks for distribution transport. Step by step, we added more battery-electric vehicles, the batteries and ranges increased—and the technology became more reliable. The charging infrastructure was expanded, too. At the same time, the electricity requirements of the branches greatly increased, which made it necessary to expand grid connections and transformers—a process with long planning, approval, and delivery times and one that involved many grid operators. Load management, the integration of battery storage systems, and the optimum location of charge spots on the site—all contain many individual topics, some of which are highly complex. This is where the e-mobility sites came in.
Were there any challenges or findings that nobody had expected before the project started?
Looking back today, it’s surprising how quickly the battery-electric drive established itself in long-distance transport. At DACHSER, we initially assumed that hydrogen would play a central role there; in the meantime, it’s become clear that modern e-trucks with ranges of up to 500 kilometers can cover large parts of system traffic.
Load management, the integration of battery storage systems, and the optimum location of charge spots on the site—all contain many individual topics, some of which are highly complex. This is where the e-mobility sites came in.
What insights have you gained regarding the charging infrastructure?
The project has clearly shown how challenging it is to expand the electrical infrastructure: long delivery times for transformers, complex coordination with around 800 grid operators in Germany, the long-term nature of the planning periods, and the importance of professional emergency planning for charging failures. Topics such as standardized billing of charging processes for subcontractors or the integration of battery storage systems also proved to be much more complex than we initially assumed.
Over the course of three years, DACHSER has researched non-fossil fuel-based propulsion technologies and their charging infrastructure requirements at three designated e-mobility sites. A new charging station at DACHSER’s facility in Hamburg is another pioneering project for the future.
The project has clearly shown how challenging it is to expand the electrical infrastructure.
How are the lessons and experience now being incorporated into day-to-day logistics at DACHSER?
The task now is to scale up the experience gained at the three research locations and to push ahead with the transformation to non-fossil drives throughout the Road Logistics network—making sure it’s economically viable and in line with a plan. However, for this development to make consistent progress, we need clear conditions: predictable political guidelines that protect investments and support the profitable use of e-trucks; rapid and comprehensive development of public charging infrastructure on highways; sufficient grid capacity and faster grid expansion at logistics locations; and less bureaucracy for approvals.
