PARIS: Renault Trucks and Geodis are to design and build a prototype 16-tonne electric-powered truck for city-centre use by the end of 2022.

Geodis wants to reduce its CO2 emissions 30 percent by 2030 and provide carbon-free deliveries to 37 cities in France by 2023, beginning with Paris.

The vehicle project, dubbed ‘Oxygen’, will be produced at Renault’s site in Blainville-sur-Orne, France where it has been manufacturing electric trucks since 2020.

“The environmental emergency combined with the growth of e-commerce and the implementation of low-emission zones in major French cities mean that we urgently need to step up the decarbonization of transport,” said Geodis CEO Marie-Christine Lombard. “This is the objective of forming this partnership with Renault Trucks. We want to quickly provide concrete answers to the issue of sustainable urban logistics.”

With an existing range of electric vehicles from 3.5 to 26 tonnes, Renault has used this experience to make the following improvements to the new vehicle:

• Improved safety for the driver and the public with a lowered cab, a large windshield and multiple cameras offering a 360° view and a sliding side door on the passenger side.
• The driver will be able to exit the truck on either side while easy of entry will be improved with a step lower than a standard delivery truck.
• Optimal ergonomics and better access to the cargo space to improve loading/unloading operations in an urban environment.
• Connected tools enabling drivers to optimize their delivery operations and their routes.

“We have noticed the image of the truck is changing; at last it is being perceived as an indispensable tool,” declared Renault Trucks president Bruno Blin. “The purpose of the Oxygen project, in which Renault Trucks is working alongside Geodis, is to design a truck that will seamlessly blend into the urban landscape, among other road users in areas with traffic and even in pedestrian zones. This new truck will be designed for the driver’s working comfort and safety, and for the safety of city dwellers,” he added.

KENYA: Holcim is using 3D printing to build 72 affordable houses in a joint venture with the CDC Group, the UK government’s development finance institution.

Capitalising on its experience with 3D building of a school in Malawi, the new Mvule Gardens complex in Kilifi near Mombasa is using Holcim’s proprietary TectorPrint ink that provides the necessary load-bearing strength to housing walls.

The technique can reduce the environmental footprint of a house by more than 50 percent with the walls built in 12 hours compared to almost four days with conventional building techniques.

The housing project is part of the Green Heart of Kenya regenerative ecosystem, a model that has won an IFC-EDGE Advanced sustainable design certification for resource-efficient and zero-carbon buildings.

“With today’s rapid urbanization, over three billion people are expected to need affordable housing by 2030,” said Holcim CEO Jan Jenisch: “This issue is most acute in Africa, with countries like Kenya already facing an estimated shortage of two million houses. By deploying 3D printing, we can address this infrastructure gap at scale to increase living standards for all.”

After 70 years of supporting overseas development, CDC will become British International Investment plc next April and says it will invest over £3 billion in climate finance by 2026. Funded by the British government, it is a founding member of the 2X challenge that has raised US$10 billion to empower women’s economic development.

TOULOUSE: CMA CGM Group has signed an MoU with Airbus for four A350 freighters, adding to a fleet of five A330-200Fs operated by its air cargo division.

The A350F is based on the A350-1000 passenger aircraft with 70 percent made from composite materials. The result is a 30-tonne lighter airframe producing a 20 percent reduction in CO2 emissions compared to a B777-200. Airbus says the aircraft will have a 109-tonne payload – three more than the Boeing equivalent – and 11 percent more useable volume.

First deliveries are scheduled for 2025, two years before new ICAO emission standards come into force.

”Thanks to its composite airframe and latest technology engines, it will bring unbeatable efficiency in terms of fuel burn, economics and CO₂ emissions,” said Airbus CCO Christian Scherer. “Having an early endorsement by such an international cargo powerhouse as the CMA CGM Group is very gratifying.”

As an alternative to truck-related emissions, CMA CGM says it will begin weekly block train services between Duisburg, Germany and the southern France ports of Fos and Marseille offering customers 96 and 105 TEU capacity respectively.

Beginning in January 2022, the two-day service is an intermodal alternative for Asia-related traffic via Fos and Turkey and North Africa trades via Marseille.