Press releases

The world's largest electric-powered truck undergoing tests with Carrefour

13 October 2011

Electric energy is not only for small vehicles. Today, Renault presented the keys of an all-electric 16 t. Renault Midlum to the logistics company STEF-TFE. It is, quite simply, the largest electric-powered truck ever to be put on the road for delivering food products in towns. This new vehicle offers a silent and non-polluting solution for urban deliveries which is perfectly adapted to the urban environment. It is to be tested over a one-year period and will be supplying fresh products to Carrefour Group store chains in the Lyon conurbation. It is the result of a technological partnership between Renault Trucks, PVI and IFP Energies nouvelles.

The world of goods road transport has to face an enormous environmental challenge. To meet it, the industry players are now examining all possible solutions to reduce its negative effects, or even eliminate them altogether. One of the options under consideration, the use of electrical energy, has extremely interesting potential.

On 13 October 2011, in the company of Gérard Collomb, the Senator-Mayor of Lyon and President of the Greater Lyon Authority, Stefano Chmielewski, the President of Renault Trucks, presented the keys of a 16 ton all-electric Renault Midlum to Francis Lemor, President of STEF-TFE at a ceremony attended by his customer, Didier Thibaud, Supply Chain Director of Carrefour France. Two other partners with pivotal roles in the success of this project were also present: Pierre-Henri Bigeard, site manager of IFP Energies nouvelles' Lyon site and Michel Bouton, CEO of PVI.

This 16 ton all-electric Renault Midlum is an experimental vehicle. It is the largest all-electric truck ever put on the road for the distribution of fresh food products in an urban environment. From the beginning of 2012, it will start a one-year assignment during which it will be supplying eight Carrefour stores in the centre of Lyon and surrounding conurbation (Carrefour Planet Vénissieux, Carrefour Market at Saint-Fons, as well as several Carrefour City, 8 à huit and Marché + convenience stores). Using this silent truck will mean that deliveries to town centre stores can be made early in the morning (between 5 AM and 7 AM) to respect the peace and quiet of local residents. The all-electric refrigerated truck will then travel to the Saint-Pierre-de-Chandieu logistics platform so that it can make a delivery to the Carrefour Planet store at Vénissieux in the early afternoon. Altogether, it will cover a distance of 75 km.

This vehicle has been specially designed to keep pace with the changes currently taking place in major metropolitan distribution networks. It offers unparalleled acoustic comfort for drivers and local residents. Non-polluting, emitting absolutely no CO₂ and totally silent, this truck can carry 5.5 t of goods. It has an operating range of 100 km and can be fully recharged in only 8 hours. As a result, the vehicle has all the qualities needed for it to blend into its urban environment. This unique solution is the result of close collaboration between Renault Trucks, PVI and IFP Energies nouvelles. It was developed as part of the Melodys project, receiving financial support from the ADEME demonstrator fund. The purpose of this experiment is to test technologies which could be subsequently incorporated into production vehicles under actual operating conditions.
 

Technical characteristics of the All-electric Renault Midlum 16 t: - Operating range: 100 km - Recharging time: 8 hours - Electric motor power: 103 kW - 3 Lithium ion battery packs with a total capacity of 150 kWh - Payload: - 5.5 tonnes - Bodywork: refrigerating unit

 
About Renault Trucks
Driven by the enthusiasm, experience and determination of its over 14,000 strong workforce, as well as an activity covering more than 100 countries and 1,500 sales and service outlets, Renault Trucks is one of the world's leading commercial vehicle manufacturers. Designer, manufacturer and distributor of heavy and light commercial vehicles from 2.7 to 60 t, Renault Trucks is constantly striving to put pride back into road transport, a noble profession without which society could not survive. http://corporate.renault-trucks.com
 
About STEF-TFE
STEF-TFE is the European leader for temperature-controlled logistics. The group offers a complete range of logistics solutions (transport, warehousing, information systems, ...) mainly for food products under controlled temperatures (from -25°C to +18 ° C). Our customers are primarily food manufacturers, distributors, restaurant chains, wholesalers and pharmaceutical industry players. The group has 15,000 employees in eight countries and can rely on specialized infrastructures: 215 platforms and warehouses and more than 4000 tractor trailers, half of which are directly owned. Our daily commitment across our businesses and countries has, in 2010, brought a turnover of 2,057 million euros. STEF-TFE is a member of Enterprise& Progrès. For more information, visit www.stef-tfe.com
 
About Carrefour France
Carrefour is present in France in 4 formats (hypermarket, supermarket, convenience store and cash&carry) with more than 4,500 stores. For the past fifty years, Carrefour has been a daily partner in the lives of its millions of customers, offering them a wide choice of products and services at the best price. In its activities Carrefour assumes economic, social and environmental responsibility and is committed to the quality of its products and to its customers’ satisfaction. www.carrefour.com
 
About IFP Energies nouvelles
IFP Energies nouvelles is a public-sector research, innovation and training center active in the fields of energy, transport and the environment. Its mission is to provide public players and industry with efficient, economical, clean and sustainable technologies to take up the challenges facing society in terms of climate change, energy diversification and water resource management. It boasts world-class expertise.
 
About PVI
PVI is specialised in the development and small to medium-scale production of commercial vehicles devoted to transport and work in urban environments. Over the last 20 years, the company has acquired unique expertise and a powerful reputation in the field of alternative energies and electrical power applied to commercial vehicles: waste collection and delivery trucks, LCVs and buses. This experiment has been built on the feedback and experience gained from the 1,000 or more electric and CNG vehicles currently operating in France and Europe. www.pvi.fr
 

Press contacts

Renault Trucks
Julien Berthet – Tel.: +33 (0)4 72 96 39 86 - julien.berthet@renault-trucks.com
Marie-Lise Marchais – Tel.: +33 (0)4 72 96 38 95 - marie-lise.marchais@renault-trucks.com
Fabrice Piombo – Tel.: +33 (0)4 72 96 12 20 - fabrice.piombo@renault-trucks.com
 
STEF-TFE
Catherine Marie – Tel.: +33 (0)1 40 74 29 64 / +33 (0)6 35 23 10 88 – catherine.marie@stef-tfe.com
 
Carrefour
Service de presse Carrefour France
Tel.: +33 (0)1 57 32 89 99 / E-mail : groupe@presse-carrefour.com
 
PVI
Epvre Delquié – Tel.: +33 (0)1 64 42 14 03 – e.delquie@pvi.fr