Companies join forces to accelerate energy transition in transport and logistics

At the Rencontres Économiques d’Aix-en-Provence, an economic forum attended by many organisations from around the world, 11 international groups have announced they have joined forces to form an international coalition open to new members.

AWS, Carrefour Group, CMA CGM Group, Cluster Maritime Français, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Engie, Faurecia, Michelin, Schneider Electric, Total and Wärtsilä are the existing members.

The Coalition aims to accelerate the development of energy sources and technologies to address the challenges posed by sustainable mobility in the transport and logistics industry by reducing emissions, fighting global warming and protecting biodiversity.

Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Total, declared:“Total shares the ambition to get to net-zero emissions by 2050, together with society, for its global business across its production and energy products used by its customers. By joining the Coalition for the energy of the future alongside major partners, we intend to support and accelerate the joint development of tangible energy solutions, therefore directly contributing to the reduction of carbon intensity of the transportation and logistics sectors.”

The 11 existing members are pooling their expertise in pursuit of three key goals to achieve genuine technological breakthroughs with tangible results by 2030:

• Unlock a more extensive portfolio of clean energy sources,
• Lower energy consumption per kilometer-equivalent of goods transported,
• Eliminate a substantial proportion of emissions linked to transport and logistics.

Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Schneider Electric, said:“At Schneider Electric, our commitment is to be the partner of our customers in their journeys toward sustainability and become carbon positive ourselves. We are proud to be part of the Coalition for the energy of the future, contributing to the energy transition in transportation and logistics thanks to our expertise in energy and automation digital solutions.”

Nine concrete projects devised by the nine working groups already set up

Over the past few months, the Coalition has established nine working groups with several dozen participants to devise nine concrete projects that will help shape the energy sources of the future:

• Develop green hydrogen procurement solutions for the transport sector,
• Develop biofuels for the various modes of transport,
• Expand the use of biogas and synthetic gases in transport,
• Replace fossil fuels with green energy across the supply chain,
• Launch zero-emission vehicle pilot projects by the end of 2021,
• Create a digital door-to-door route planning system that calculates the option with the lowest environmental impact,
• Optimise the operational management and loading to step up the energy efficiency of each ton carried,
• Make multimodal platforms more environmentally friendly for logistics applications,
• Consolidate methods used to measure the impact of energy transition projects in transport and logistics.

Jaakko Eskola, President and Chief Executive Officer of Wärtsilä, commented: “The shipping industry’s transition to cleaner, more sustainable energy use is a movement in which we at Wärtsilä continue to play a leading role. Through the development of smart technologies, research into alternative future fuels, and our holistic approach to raising efficiencies in all aspects of shipping and port operations to create a Smart Marine Ecosystem, we have shown our commitment to promoting decarbonisation. We are, therefore, proud to be part of this coalition which perfectly aligns with our purpose to enable sustainable societies with smart technology.”

The Coalition was launched in late 2019 during the French Maritime Economy Conference (Assises de l’Economie de la Mer) and has received the backing of French President Emmanuel Macron.

The Coalition’s initial findings will be officially presented in January 2021 at the IUCN World Conservation Congress.