Quiet and clean deliveries to city supermarkets

The number of cities across the globe continues to rise. These cities fill with more people and more shops, resulting in even more deliveries. Project ZEUS: Zero Emission off-peak Urban deliverieS, is an initiative supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). The EIT is an autonomous body of the European Union that promotes research and entrepreneurship by pooling the practical knowledge and understanding of different experts and partners, in order to find effective solutions to pressing global challenges.

The ZEUS  project aims to show that urban goods can be delivered in off-peak hours in a quiet, efficient, and environmentally friendly way. Using off-peak hours of 7pm-7am means delivery trucks will not contribute to rush hour and traffic jams. To keep these late-night deliveries quiet the project is looking at quiet transport trailers, low-noise pallet trucks, and covered loading docks at the stores. The project is also supporting investigations into electric and plug-in hybrid trucks to make sure deliveries are zero-emission as much as possible. Optimal route planning will ensure transport is more efficient and safer.

One project participant, Colruyt Group is using their stores in city centres as real test sites and hoping that the ZEUS project not only helps their own delivery system but can be used as a blueprint for cities across Europe.

Original article first published 22 July 2020 by Colruyt Group