TRENS Solar City Trains, a Dutch designed fully electric road train for the transport of goods and people, has secured new investors and its first launching customer.
In December 2021, TRENS Solar City Trains partnered with Bloomit Ventures and MPPD en Karhod, to accelerate its goal of launching a safe alternative to the trucks and delivery vans that deliver goods to city centres every day.
Read more: Dutch cities to implement zero-emission zones for urban deliveries from 2025
Bloomit is an active investor in light electric vehicles that assist with the transition to sustainable urban mobility. The collaboration will work closely together on the business strategy, including marketing, vehicle development, organisation and financing.
Additionally, Sligro Food Group has become a launching customer and will use the first TRENS in the city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, as part of the Bossche Green Deal: Zero Emission City logistics project. This focuses on the transport of cooled food and drinks to shops, bars and restaurants.
According to the partnership, the historic city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch with its narrow streets is an ideal launching city for TRENS.
Yvonne Poels, manager transport, Sligro Food Group, said: “Ambitious innovations are needed to achieve our 2030 CO2 reduction goals. The partnership with TRENS developed Sligro road train is such an ambitious innovation: a fully new electric vehicle, developed in detail for our logistical needs and future city regulations in order to ensure sustainable city centre distribution.”
The TRENS-locomotive is a 4WD-vehicle with a 25kW motor on every wheel, which can reach a maximum torque of 10.000Nm, allowing TRENS to transport 11 metric ton on a gradient of 20%. With a loading capacity of max 41m3 or 20 roll containers the TRENS city train can replaces three delivery vans or one truck in every trip.
Food, drinks, goods, building equipment or people, TRENS can transport all of it, the project said. The carriage modularity can change depending on needs, with two long or three shorter carriages (total length maximum 18 metres), cooled or non-cooled. The carriages can also be de-coupled during a trip to be used as mini distribution centres.
