Less than six months after opening a U.S. operation and launching initial pilots in North America, Swedish freight technology company Einride has inked a deal with global transportation provider A.P. Møller – Maersk.
The five-year agreement calls for Maersk to deploy 300 Einride Class 8 electric trucks (E-trucks), with the first delivery taking place in 2023. Maersk will use the vehicles in its North American warehousing, distribution and transportation business. The companies estimate the vehicles will move more than 1 million shipments during the life of the contract.
“This is one of the biggest deals ever made to make transportation sustainable, and it comes at a critical time,” Robert Falck, CEO of Einride, said in a statement. “Not only is the road freight industry responsible for close to 8% of all global CO2 emissions – a number that will continue to grow if cost-effective change is not made today – but you also have a world that is more aware than ever before about the urgent need to shift to electric. I admire Maersk for its boldness in leading the way – for standing out in its commitments as a shipper to tangibly make the transition happen.”
Maersk (OCTUS: AMKBY) has been ramping up its overall transportation offerings, moving away from serving only maritime customers to build an end-to-end transportation network. In 2021, the company acquired several entities, including a $545 million acquisition of logistics provider Performance Team and its 58 U.S. facilities in April 2021, a $1.8 billion purchase of Pilot Freight, and technology provider Visible SCM.
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Einride’s E-truck will aid Maersk in its goal to reach net zero and offer 100% green solutions for its customers by 2040. It expects to eventually charge its entire fleet with 100% renewable electricity.
“Our customers are looking for tangible actions on sustainable supply chains – not just conceptual,” Vincent Clerc, CEO of ocean and logistics for Maersk, said. “Today’s order is an important step in building our end-to-end, landside decarbonization foundation while also addressing customers’ inland transportation pain points. Maersk has a comprehensive decarbonization plan in motion for our ocean activities, which represent 93% of all company-related emissions. This order marks the expansion of our ambitions to cover all services across transport modes.”
The agreement includes Einride’s capacity-as-a-service and software-as-a-service offerings. The E-trucks will operate within Einride’s Saga data-driven operating system, which also includes charging stations and connectivity services. In all, 150 charging stations are expected to be installed to support the deployment.
The initial vehicles will be assembled in California.
Einride opened its North American operations in November, announcing headquarters in New York City and a pilot of its Einride Pod, a cabless box on wheels that can move product autonomously from point to point. Einride is now working with global companies Ericsson and Siemens as well as customers Oatly, Bridgestone and GE Appliances. The GEA pilot features 20 units transporting goods around the company’s 750-acre Appliance Park campus in Louisville, Kentucky. Einride will also operate at GEA facilities in Tennessee and Georgia.
Watch: Empty miles or electric vehicles?
The E-truck comes in two configurations, a 4×2 tractor-trailer version capable of hauling up to 33 pallets and 24 tons and a rigid 4×2 configuration with up to 18-pallet capacity and either 9- or 16-ton capacities depending on application.
Einride raised $110 million in a series B funding round in May 2021. Maersk Growth, the venture capital arm of A.P. Moller – Maersk, was involved in that round. Other investors included Soros Fund Management LLC; Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Ltd., Northzone, EQT Ventures, Plum Alley, Norrsken VC, Ericsson and NordicNinja VC.
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