Transporter takes pioneering role with realization of green mobility hub

Logistics service provider VPD, as a member of the Green Deal project, pays close attention to promoting sustainable urban logistics. The last-mile delivery carrier therefore approached the landlord of its headquarters to see if they could jointly transform the building into a green mobility hub. The landlord agreed and last summer the new loading infrastructure was inaugurated. We asked CEO Steven De Bruyn about the experience.

Belgian transport company VPD provides Business to Consumer transport services for IKEA, MediaMarkt and ENGIE, among others. It is keen to make its entire fleet sustainable and has the ambition to make all deliveries CO2-free by 2030.

Electric driving

"Previously we delivered everything from our headquarters, but in recent years we have built a network of smaller hubs to maximize electric driving that way. Now goods are transported by trailers from our headquarters in Zellik to these smaller hubs and then delivered to the end customer by electric transport. This transformation has already produced a significant reduction in CO2."

Mobility hub

"For us, a sustainable charging infrastructure was a logical next step in the sustainability path we had mapped out. However, because our headquarters building is not our property, we sat down with the landlord." As indicated, the landlord was open to this. For them, however, the transition to a green mobility hub was also new, so this became a pilot project. Now there are 12,000 square meters of solar panels on the roof, good for a peak capacity of 1.5 megawatts. "We store part of the solar energy generated in our own battery that connects to 12 fast chargers and 17 wall chargers. And an Energy Management System helps us so that we make the best choice in terms of using the generated energy at the right time. Hereby, an integrated weather station predicts the possible yield for the coming days."
In order to work even more sustainably, the office spaces are heated by a heat pump and part of the site is permanently open as a public charging station. Anyone can go there to charge their vehicle.

Experience

"We are now just under a year on and the system works very well. There were a few teething problems in the beginning, such as the proper tuning of the so-called load balancing, but these have now been resolved. Naturally, we have already made considerable savings on our energy bill and fuel consumption as a result of all the measures we have taken. To gain insight into all the costs and savings, one final step still needs to be taken. Through software from the lessor, we can then see exactly how much energy goes to the battery and how much towards the grid."

Pioneering role

At VPD, sustainability, innovation and flexibility have always been high on the agenda. This has already earned them the title "Transporter of the Year 2022" and makes them an inspiration to others. De Bruyn has therefore been asked to come and speak at the Logistics Hotspots & Warehousing congress. "By working flexibly and innovatively, both in terms of mindset and IT setup, we are able to deliver customized solutions and provide a pleasant workplace for our employees. We have low staff turnover and can also answer our customers' more specific questions."

The landlord has now realized its second green mobility hub in Breda and has expressed its ambition to do so with all its warehouses. Would De Bruyn recommend it to others? "Yes, I think so. If you want to drive electric on a large scale, this is the only way to be assured of sufficient electricity, since you don't have the guarantee that you will always get your turn immediately at the public charging stations."