Belgian logistics company Van Moer Logistics will start building a truck charging hub at its sight in the port of Antwerp-Bruges at the end of this year. It plans to install six publicly accessible fast chargers, each with a capacity of 400 kW, and 30 charging points with 50 kW each for the company’s own use.

The energy for these chargers will be generated on the one hand by Van Moer’s own solar panels on their site in combination with battery technology. On the other hand, energy is also purchased through green energy contracts. In the near future. The current capacity of the solar panels will be further expanded by approximately 3.5 MWp.

To realize these projects, the logistics service provider has set up a partnership with the Belgian energy company Bnewable. They specialize in energy storage and generation for the commercial and industrial market and support companies with optimal management of their energy flows. In this project, Bnewable is responsible for the battery technology and its smart control.

Privately managed

Van Moer Logistics will initially investment of around 1,2 million euros in the construction of a charging station for electric freight traffic at its site along Keetberglaan on Antwerp’s left bank (Zwijndrecht). It will be the first privately managed public charging station for freight traffic within the port of Antwerp. It will be progressively operational in 2025.The project will be realised partly with the support of the  Belgian Agency for Mobility and Public Works (Clean Power for Transport).

The construction of the loading station is part of Van Moer Logistics’ overall sustainability strategy. In this way, the logistics service provider is taking the first steps towards achieving their targets of a 45% CO2 reduction within the transport department by 2030. They want to achieve this through a combination of intermodal transport, electrification and use of transition technologies (such as HVO and dual-fuel hydrogen). “Thanks to Bnewable’s expertise, we can keep our focus on logistics while reducing our ecological footprint through electrification,” says Jo Van Moer, founder and CEO of Van Moer Logistics.

“In the first years, we will focus on electrification of the most suitable routes. This involves looking at a combination of operational factors, such as trip distance and load weight, and the optimal charging strategy,” says Jo Van Moer. “These in-depth analyses are currently being carried out internally by our sustainability department.”