Bletchley, UK: Marine & Cargo has put the first all-electric Schmitz Cargobull S.KOe Cool trailer into operation in England, delivering to McDonald’s UK distribution centres.
Andrew Marshall, managing director, Marine & Cargo, says: “We’ve had the S.KOe Cool on the road for a few weeks now and the early signs are really positive. The technology is easy to use, and it will offer our business and our customers huge sustainability benefits in the long run.
“We are taking approximately 200 litres of diesel a week out of our operation, which is what our standard refrigerated trailers will use to keep the goods at the precise temperatures they need to be. To eliminate that with this electric unit is a significant saving we’re achieving already.”
Schmitz Cargobull launched the S.KOe Coo into the UK and Ireland earlier this year. Marine & Cargo’s new reefer has an S.CU Ep85 cooling unit with integrated power electronics, a battery system and an electric generator axle, enabling total emissions-free operation.
The business has paired the S.KOe Cool with a Mercedes-Benz Actros Gigaspace tractor running on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) for further emission reductions.
“Our vehicles are all used for tramping operations, leaving the depot on a Monday morning and coming back on a Friday. Due to the lack of charging infrastructure, there just isn’t an electric option suitable for the prime mover at this moment in time,” Marshall said. “So, we need to cut our emissions in other ways.
“By using this electric trailer, which is generating its own energy through the electric axle as it travels, we are achieving the closest thing we can get to sustainable energy within our operation.”
The S.KOe’s electrified trailer axle recuperates energy during braking, among other processes, extending the cooling unit’s operating time or reducing the recharging time of the battery via the power grid. This also reduces waiting times at distribution centres.
