100% electric lorry covering a route for Mercadona in the Madrid city centre

Mercadona starts testing a new 100% electric lorry that is free from GHG, PM and NOx emissions

02 december 2021
  • This new technology helps to reduce the impact of the company’s daily activity, improve air quality in cities, and minimise noise.
  • With a capacity for 21 pallets and a Maximum Authorised Mass of 26 tonnes, the new 100% electric Scania vehicle has a theoretical autonomy of approximately 200 km, making it an optimal solution for urban distribution.
  • In collaboration with Scania, Acotral, Frigicoll and ThermoKing.

In collaboration with suppliers Scania, Acotral, Frigicoll, and ThermoKing, Mercadona has commenced a laboratory test in its logistics processes by incorporating a new 100% electric lorry model into its fleet. This new project will allow Mercadona to further reduce the impact that its activity has on the different cities in which it is present, thereby strengthening its commitment to meeting the targets of the European Green Deal and the Climate Change Law.

The new vehicle does not emit Greenhouse Gases (GHG) during transportation, positively affecting environmental protection and conservation. Additionally, this new engine helps improve the air quality in cities by eliminating the gases that are most harmful to people’s health, for example those that generate particles smaller than 10 microns and Nitrogen Oxides (NOx).

This project that is being developed by Mercadona and its suppliers also helps reduce noise pollution, as due to the type of engine used and the vehicle design, the noise produced is significantly reduced and is barely perceptible to the human ear.

Equipped with a 300 kWh Scania engine, the new lorry is multi-temperature and has an electric engine which is powered by lithium-ion batteries with maximum autonomy of 220 km and it can be fully charged in 90 minutes using a 230 kW direct current. During the testing period, which will be done with 1 unit that has already been incorporated into the Acotral fleet, Mercadona intends to optimise the charging processes that will take place in one of the loading bays of its Ciempozuelos logistics centre (Madrid) in order to make best use of drivers’ break times and goods loading schedules.

Designed for day time and night time unloading in urban settings, the vehicle is a rigid lorry with capacity for 21 pallets and a Maximum Authorised Mass of 26 Tn. These vehicles use the ThermoKing Frigoblock refrigeration unit, which is also 100% electric and connects to the same battery as the engine. This means that it is possible, not only to eliminate the gas emissions from the refrigeration equipment, but these lorries can also drive through city centres with the equipment in operation thanks to a significant reduction in noise pollution.

This new urban transport project, which incorporates 100% electric engines free from GHG, particles and NOx emissions affirms the commitment of Mercadona and its logistics suppliers to sustainable transport and coexistence with neighbours. For years now the company has been committed, not only to transporting more with fewer resources and optimising each route, but also to reducing the impact of its activities as far as possible through initiatives like the one it is currently testing and which is fully aligned with the environmental targets set by Europe.

Mercadona says yes to continuing to care for the Planet and is making major efforts to do so. Examples of this include the Emissions Reduction Plan that the company launched to support the Lean & Green initiative, promoted in Spain by AECOC, the Association of Manufacturers and Distributors, as well as the certified reduction of over 20% in the CO2 emissions resulting from its logistics processes, specifically 27% between 2016 and 2020.

Sustainable logistics: Committed to the environment

Mercadona has continued reviewing its logistics processes and has introduced improvements that, as a whole, have made it possible to optimise the supply chain to make it increasingly more sustainable. To do so, it has incorporated solutions such as, for example, the use of less polluting fuels like liquefied natural gas (LNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG), improvements to the gases used in the refrigeration equipment in the vehicles, updating the fleet to more advanced and efficient engine standards, and last-mile distribution in urban centres using lorries with the most restrictive emission control standards on the market. Additionally, it has continued to drive its Eight Strategy with a wide range of initiatives which, when combined, make it possible to improve the environmental performance of its fleet, such as committing to “Ex-Works Buying” to reduce the carbon footprint; taking advantage of “Inverse Logistics” to optimise return trips; using a pool of reusable packaging that is easily repairable and recyclable; and supporting the eco-design of packages and packaging to make the best use of load space and avoid “transporting air”.

Thanks to all these movements and to the constant joint efforts of its logistics department and the Totaler Suppliers that it collaborates with, at the end of 2020 the company certified important advances, as reflected in this data: 99% of its fleet complies with the Euro VIc and Euro VId standard; it has 103 lorries powered by LNG and CNG; it has implemented silent logistics in off-peak hours in more than 700 stores; and it has achieved a lorry fill rate of 85%, despite the complexity of the logistics changes that have had to be made in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.

In terms of the Home Delivery and Mercadona Online fleets, Dual Fuel vans are being introduced, and at the same time electric vans are being tested.

Furthermore, important energy saving and efficiency improvements are being made in the Mercadona Logistics Centres, for example the use of LED lighting and the installation of photovoltaic solar panels in some of them, like Villadangos and Vitoria-Gasteiz.

Electric lorry being tested at the Mercadona Logistics Centre in CiempozuelosElectric lorry being tested at the Mercadona Logistics Centre in Ciempozuelos.

  100% electric lorry covering a route for Mercadona in the Madrid city centre100% electric lorry covering a route for Mercadona in the Madrid city centre.