Just a few weeks ago, an illegal rave was held at Brustem air strip, but this week it was Mercedes’ electric trucks which set up shop there. On Wednesday and Thursday, more than 120 invited guests from the transport and logistics sector were introduced to the eActros, Mercedes’ electric truck.

On the DronePort premises, participants who had descended from all over the country were introduced to the technology during various workshops. They could then put the truck to the test around the site. Sint-Truiden is the only Belgian stop on a 3,700-kilometre trip through five European countries.

Won over

One of the attendees was Wim Claes, director of the Diepenbeek-based ‘Wim Claes Transport and Logistics’. Claes provides transport and logistics services with more than 70 trucks, and has since been won over by the usefulness of electric transport. “We also need to get on board with the green movement,” Claes explains, whose company organises transport for cooling and heating companies such as Jaga, Henco and Vasco.

Claes ordered an eActros with a battery capacity of 400 kWh from the Limburg Group JAM, the first in Limburg and the second in Belgium. “It’s good for a range of 400 kilometres, and with ideal temperatures like today even 450 kilometres. We’ll mainly use the truck for regional and local transport”. The battery will be charged at night, so the truck is ready to go in the morning. “Energy is also recovered when the driver brakes or goes downhill,” adds Robby Jacobs of JAM Group. “Driving an e-truck requires a few changes, but it’s much more relaxed.”

Curiosity

The number of electric trucks in Belgium is still limited for the time being, no more than a few dozen, but that may soon change. According to the research firm PS Intelligence, global sales of electric trucks will rise from 87,000 in 2022 to 1.15 million in 2030. According to another forecast, fully 43% of new trucks will be electric by 2030.

“Things are indeed moving fast,” confirms technology expert Mark Pecqueur of the Thomas More University of Applied Sciences. “Not so long ago, we assumed that electric engines would be the preserve of passenger cars, and trucks would be powered by hydrogen. Now we see that trucks also have a pretty good range with a battery. It’s up to the government to provide sufficient charging points. It’s difficult, but not impossible.”

One individual interested in greening the fleet is Nick Vercruysse, Operations Manager of Transport at Belgian-Dutch wholesaler Sligro Food Group. With the takeover of nine branches of Metro, the company has seriously expanded its footprint in our country. “We currently have 96 vans and trucks on the roads,” explains Vercruysse.

In the Netherlands, Sligro Food Group already extensively uses electric transport for distribution in cities. “Electrification is already a hot topic at our Dutch site, and it is now becoming one here,” enthuses Vercruysse. “Emission and noise standards are getting stricter in cities, and we need to adapt. Hotels want on-time delivery, but of course don’t want their guests to be woken up by noisy engines. With an electric truck, that problem disappears.”

Vercruysse concludes with an appeal to the government: “Make sure there is sufficient charging infrastructure.”