25 February, 2022

UTA Edenred and Transporeon begin cooperation

Posted on 25 February, 2022 by David Priestman

UTA Edenred, a leading European mobility service provider and an Edenred company, and Transporeon, one of Europe’s leading transport management platforms, have joined forces as part of a sales cooperation. From now on, Transporeon offers its European network of carriers a specially created UTA Full Service co-branded card. This card gives Transporeon customers access to UTA’s acceptance network and its comprehensive product and service portfolio.

Transporeon’s leading Transport Management Platform provides its extensive network of +1,300 shippers and retailers and +130,000 carriers and Logistics Service Providers end-to-end transport logistics management software solutions.

For its extensive carrier community, Transporeon offers a wide range of smart solutions, which help optimize route and resource planning. By entering a partnership with UTA Edenred, Transporeon is bringing even more value to carriers. They will get access to the Europe-wide UTA acceptance network and the mobility specialist’s entire range of products and services, which include fuels supply and e-charging, Europe-wide toll services, repair and maintenance, as well as numerous fleet management solutions and transparent reporting and billing.

Carsten Bettermann, CEO of UTA Edenred, says: “Through this important new partnership, we’re simplifying mobility for Transporeon customers across Europe. UTA Edenred and Transporeon share a number of synergies. Notably, UTA Edenred is creating an all-new digital platform to meet customers’ mobility needs into the future, while Transporeon has a successful digital business model. By combining UTA Edenred products with Transporeon services, we’re providing richer and more efficient mobility experiences for customers.”

Gruziana Hoxha, Executive Director of Carrier Management at Transporeon, says: “We’re committed to helping carriers optimise their global transport and logistics processes with regard to time, cost and resources. UTA Edenred, with its nearly 60 years of experience on the market and such an extensive service network, is an excellent European service partner for Transporeon. Together, we will help our customers save time and money in their everyday business.”

UTA Edenred and Transporeon begin cooperation

Posted on 25 February, 202229 July, 2025 by David Priestman

RightHand Robotics secures $66m funding

Posted on 25 February, 202225 July, 2025 by David Priestman

RightHand Robotics, a leader in data-driven, autonomous robotic picking solutions for order fulfillment, has secured $66m in a Series C financing led by top growth investors: Safar Partners, a technology venture fund; Thomas H. Lee Partners L.P. (THL), a leading investor in automation and supply chain; and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, which is part of the SoftBank Group. Zebra Technologies, Epson and Global Brain also join this round, along with previous investors GV, F-Prime Capital, Menlo Ventures, Matrix Partners and Tony Fadell’s Future Shape. Previous rounds were led by Menlo Ventures and Playground Global.

RightHand Robotics intends to use the funds to accelerate product and business development, while scaling its global presence and partner network. The company will also expand its offices and invest in talent acquisition to support overall growth plans.

“The past few years have been an incredibly exciting time for us,” said Yaro Tenzer, CEO and co-founder of RightHand Robotics. “This Series C funding round attracted top-tier investors who know the space and share our vision that piece-picking automation enables predictable throughput with lights-out item handling, while meeting customer needs for scalable fulfilment services. We are eager to continue expanding our solution set and global presence to meet the needs of warehouse operators worldwide.”

“We have been believers in this company for a few years already,” said Arunas Chesonis, Managing Partner at Safar Partners. “The RightHand Robotics piece-picking solution has demonstrated year after year that autonomous robots are vital to solving the challenges of organisations from retail to pharmacy. The surge in e-commerce will continue even when the pandemic subsides, and we are eager to witness the continued maturation of the robotics industry in response to this global demand.”

“RightHand Robotics identified a challenge in the marketplace and responded with a solution that is intelligent, adaptable, and easy to integrate with adjacent software and automation solutions,” said Mike Kaczmarek, Managing Director at THL. “The company’s piece-picking solution enables customers from a diverse set of end markets such as e-commerce, grocery, and pharmaceuticals to streamline and scale their operations and supply chains.”

“Labor shortages are stretching global fulfilment to breaking point, prompting companies to invest more in automation to help improve efficiency and reliability,” said Ram Trichur, Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “We believe that RightHand Robotics is a leader in supply chain logistics with a flexible, full-stack platform that can be integrated directly into customers’ existing systems to improve throughput while decreasing fulfilment costs. We are delighted to partner with Leif Jentoft and Yaro Tenzer and the team as they expand their international presence.”

“Zebra Technologies has been an active investor and solution provider to help businesses globally digitise and automate their supply chains and augment front-line workers,” said Tony Palcheck, Managing Director of Zebra Ventures, Zebra Technologies. “For customers across the consumer-packaged goods, retail, logistics and other industries, fulfilling orders with higher speed, accuracy, safety and cost savings is key, and RightHand Robotics helps achieve those efficiencies.”

RightHand Robotics delivers its innovative piece-picking solution, RightPick 3, with the aid of integration partners such as Element Logic, an AutoStore partner and one of Europe’s leading intralogistics companies; and Okamura, Japan’s leading provider of high-quality products and services for offices, education, commercial facilities and distribution centres. Through these collaborations, RightHand Robotics customers include PALTAC CORPORATION, Japan’s largest wholesaler of consumer packaged goods, and apo.com Group, Europe’s most advanced online pharmacy.

The RightHand Robotics RightPick platform streamlines the supply chain processes of warehouses with its innovative piece-picking robotic solution, which leverages AI software with intelligent grippers and machine vision. The result is an integrator-ready autonomous solution that empowers operating teams and meets the evolving needs of today’s fulfilment industry, as seen in this video.

Work underway on ‘next-generation’ HGV hydrogen engine

Posted on 25 February, 2022 by David Priestman

Ballard Power Systems and MAHLE Group, a Tier 1 automotive supplier, are progressing the development of a new fuel cell engine concept for long-haul trucks, with MAHLE taking delivery of 120kW module at the company’s hydrogen test centre in Stuttgart, Germany.

The new concept engine is a part of the ongoing development of Ballard’s future product platform – which will feature power outputs from 180kW to 360kW – to specifically address the requirements of heavy-duty and long-haul trucks on global markets.

The joint project is a multi-year development program in which Ballard and MAHLE will continuously refine Ballard’s compact, energy-dense fuel cell stack and an integrated engine to meet the quality and performance expectations of the truck industry.

Seungsoo Jung, Product Director, Trucks, Ballard, said: “We are committed to fuel cell technology leadership, and to tailoring our fuel cell solutions to our customers’ needs. We are extremely optimistic about the value of our collaboration with MAHLE—combining their strength in the automotive value chain with our leadership in hydrogen fuel cell technology and products.”

The module incorporates Ballard’s FCgen-HPS Fuel Cell stack, which addresses limited engine space, and maximizes freight and cargo capacity. Based on an earlier high power density design, the technology draws on Ballard’s on-road experience of 100 million km in service and proven fuel cell durability, exceeding 30,000 in vehicle operation as demonstrated in the London bus fleet.

The concept fuel cell module is the central building block in Ballard’s future engine, which MAHLE will now test and integrate with their components, including the balance-of-plant, thermal management and power electronics, and the system assembly.

The new concept engine for heavy-duty vehicles will feature:

High Power for Heavy Payloads: the 120kW module is a building block for systems that can deliver up to 240kW power, to serve the needs of heavy Class 8 and long-haul freight trucks and coaches that require more power and longer range than transit buses or short-range delivery vehicles.

Easier Maintenance for Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): the module design features reduced weight, fewer parts and a more compact design. A key new feature, the “Open Engine Concept Design”, provides better access to parts and the subsystem, for easier maintenance and ultimately, a lower total life cycle cost.

Robust, Reliable Design: For long-haul trucks delivering critical goods, reliability and robustness are essential – and the Concept Engine’s reduced parts count and simplified integration design are key factors in dependable long-term performance.

Trustworthy Durability: The Concept Engine is based on field-proven technologies and designs, and Ballard’s vast experience in heavy-duty transport.

Fuel Efficiency for Economical Operation: Fuel costs are a major component of a Class 8 truck’s TCO. Fuel efficiency is also key for a manageable heat rejection system.

Freeze Start for Cold Weather: Because commercial trucks have to power up and deliver the goods, even in midwinter in the worst mountain roads.

The partnership’s aim is to accelerate the development and commercialization of zero-emission fuel cell systems. Ballard has prime responsibility for system design and the fuel cell stack sub-system, while MAHLE’s scope of responsibility includes balance-of-plant components, thermal management and power electronics for the complete fuel cell system.

Work underway on ‘next-generation’ HGV hydrogen engine

Posted on 25 February, 20227 August, 2025 by Keith McKinley

The new concept engine for heavy-duty vehicles will feature:

Trustworthy Durability: The Concept Engine is based on field-proven technologies and designs, and Ballard’s vast experience in heavy-duty transport.

Fuel Efficiency for Economical Operation: Fuel costs are a major component of a Class 8 truck’s TCO. Fuel efficiency is also key for a manageable heat rejection system.

Freeze Start for Cold Weather: Because commercial trucks have to power up and deliver the goods, even in midwinter in the worst mountain roads.

Research: security concerns prevent effective use of IoT data

Posted on 25 February, 2022 by David Priestman

Research by Inmarsat, a world leader in global, mobile satellite communications, reveals relatively few businesses derive maximum benefit from the IoT data that they gather.

Most of today’s businesses only share IoT data within their own organisations, with security and privacy concerns preventing them from disseminating it to organisations in their wider supply chains. Infrequent data collection and lacking an IoT data strategy leaves many businesses surveyed struggling to extract full value from their IoT data. A more strategic, ambitious and open approach to gathering and sharing non-sensitive data could unlock substantial benefits for business struggling to make the most of IoT projects.

Collecting and sharing the right data at the right time enables companies and their partners to take better, more proactive decisions across the value chain to optimise operations as soon as a problem occurs, or even anticipate and mitigate it before it happens. Such data driven insight can help businesses reduce waste, increase productivity, improve customer service and run more sustainable operations.

The research was based on the interviews of 450 global respondents across the agriculture, electrical utilities, mining, oil and gas, and transport and logistics sectors. According to the research, of those who worked in transport, as many as 82% of respondents admit their organisation does not use the data collected from IoT projects as effectively as it could.

This is despite high levels of IoT adoption overall. The most prevalent barriers are security and data privacy concerns, cited as a barrier by almost three in five (59%) of all respondents, followed by a lag between data collection and availability (41%) and the lack of an IoT data strategy (27%).

Accelerating IoT adoption over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the fact that many businesses’ data sharing strategies are not yet as advanced as they need to be. Currently, only 20% of all transport organisations make non-sensitive IoT data available to anyone in their organisation, and to their partners, to access and to use. Conversely, just over two in five (42%) limit the use of IoT data to certain departments involved in their IoT projects.

However, this is set to change, with a larger proportion of organisations (34%) shifting towards sharing data with their wider supply chain and far fewer (23%) planning on limiting IoT data to specific departments. This change is occurring as more businesses come to understand that the responsible and secure sharing of IoT data is a necessary step towards unlocking the maximum value of that data.

The research reveals that having a formal IoT data strategy is a vital step towards drawing the optimum benefits from the technology, ensuring data is produced, shared, and analysed between the right parties at the right time. Transport organisations with a formal IoT strategy are far more likely to gather data points in their IoT projects in real time (51% of respondents compared to only 16% amongst organisations without an IoT strategy).

There are also notable differences in how strategic businesses are in the usage of their IoT data based on the region they operate in and the size of their organisations. While only 9% of European businesses (excluding Russia) struggle to use IoT data effectively due to the lack of an IoT data strategy, this increases to 27% of organisations in Asia Pacific and 60% in Latin America. Likewise, while 18% of large organisations (3,001 – 5,000 employees) struggle with a lack of an IoT data strategy, 56% of smaller businesses (under 500 employees) cite this as a barrier to effective IoT data use.

Steven Tompkins, Director of Market Development at Inmarsat Enterprise, said: “Transport businesses lag other sectors surveyed in their use of IoT – being the least likely to have a formal IoT strategy – so there is still much to do to leverage IoT’s full potential in this sector. It is evident that a formal strategy around IoT data is imperative to ensuring that transport companies are effectively communicating data, not just internally, but also across their supply chains.

“Effectively communicating the wealth of available data is an integral part of any transport business, so a formal approach and strategy will need to be non-negotiable for the sector to extract full value from its IoT projects.”

Commenting on the findings, Mike Carter, President of Inmarsat Enterprise said: “While our latest research shows that the majority of today’s organisations are now gathering IoT data, there is still plenty more that businesses need to do to derive the maximum benefit from it. The ultimate measure of an IoT project’s success is how it improves the way a company and its partner eco-system operates. This is largely resultant on the type of data extracted and how it is shared and turned into practical and actionable business insights in a timely manner.

“It’s clear from our findings that many businesses still need to employ an IoT data strategy as part of their overall IoT strategy, to ensure their data gets to where it needs to go within the organisation, let alone to other parts of the supply chain. Four out of five businesses currently share the data created from their IoT projects only within their organisation, due to concerns around security or privacy, limiting their ability to extract real business value from this data.

“However, it is encouraging businesses intend to change this situation, as organisations become increasingly open to sharing non-sensitive IoT data with their partners, increasing productive supply chains.

“Without a coherent IoT data strategy in place, businesses will struggle to develop the culture of open and responsible data sharing and collaboration required to ensure their IoT projects are successful. Inmarsat’s Enterprise business is focused on providing IoT connectivity to business-critical applications and to remote locations, providing vital access to valuable data points across global supply chains.

“Our industry-leading ELERAnarrowband network enables organisations that grow, mine, extract, move, save, and inform to access, use and share IoT data anywhere, helping them to improve efficiencies, safety and sustainability.”

Research: security concerns prevent effective use of IoT data

Posted on 25 February, 2022 by Keith McKinley

Research by Inmarsat, a world leader in global, mobile satellite communications, reveals relatively few businesses derive maximum benefit from the IoT data that they gather.

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