DDeutsche Post plans to use electric aircraft in air cargo soon to get closer to the long-term goal of zero-emission operations by 2050.Cargo daughter DHL The Bonn-based company announced on Tuesday that Express has ordered 12 “Alice” electric planes from electric plane manufacturer Eviation, which will be delivered in 2024. The “Alice” young bird flight should be held this year.
It stated that according to the order, DHL plans to build the first electric and therefore no emissions air transport network. “Alice” can transport more than 1,200 kilograms of goods. The charging time is about 30 minutes per flight hour, and the maximum range is 815 kilometers. Therefore, the aircraft is suitable for shorter regional flights. For comparison: the maximum cargo capacity of a twin-engine Boeing 777 is 102,010 kg, and the range is 9,200 kilometers.
“We firmly believe in a zero-emission future for logistics,” said John Pearson, owner of DHL Express. The electrification of all means of transportation plays a decisive role in this regard. Swiss Post plans to invest about 7 billion euros by 2030 to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The group’s goal is to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050. Air freight plays an important role here-the express delivery department alone has 2,200 flights a day, which is the group’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.
Obtained from residual waste
In order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, logistics companies such as Swiss Post and airlines have switched from fossil kerosene to sustainable fuels (SAF). For example, these are obtained from residual waste. The European Commission hopes to ensure greater use of sustainable fuels in the aviation industry through its “fit 55” climate program. The package aims to achieve the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels in order to combat climate change.
The Bonn-based group has been using electric vehicles on a large scale to transport packages on the road for many years. More than 15,000 StreetScooter electric transport vehicles deliver goods to customers.
The Alice electric aircraft is developed and produced by a manufacturer based in Washington State. This plane can be built as a cargo plane or a passenger plane. In this version, it can accommodate up to nine passengers.
