Refrigerated lorry fleet electrified to reduce emissions

FRIGOBLOCK, one of the leading suppliers of transport refrigeration units in Europe and brand of Thermo King®, collaborated with BIOGROS, a Luxembourgish wholesaler and distributor of bio products and part of Oikopolis Group, put the first fully electric refrigerated truck on Luxembourg’s roads. As part of the project, FRIGOBLOCK equipped the prototype MAN eTGM truck with the inverter driven FK25i refrigeration unit. BIOGROS calculates that in the first eight months of operations they saved over 2900 litres of diesel equalling to approximately 9.4 tonnes of CO2, compared to similar diesel-fuelled truck in their fleet. By end of the year, they expect to save a total of approximately 22 tonnes of CO2, more than 20% of their entire fleet’s emissions.

Environmental responsibility and operating in a sustainable manner are part of BIOGROS’ culture. In late 2020, as part of their strategy to reduce CO2 emissions and decrease fuel consumption, BIOGROS decided to expand its distribution fleet with a new refrigerated e-truck, the first one to operate on Luxembourg roads. To find the most efficient, electric refrigeration unit for the prototype MAN eTGM truck, BIOGROS reached out to Gradius, Thermo King’s official dealer in Belgium and Luxembourg.

The truck required a refrigeration unit, which could work fully on electric power and that could be connected and powered by the truck’s main battery with low impact on the vehicle’s operational range. FRIGOBLOCK’s FK25i unit ticked all the boxes.

“When planning our transport and logistics operations, we have always looked for the best possible compromise between the protection of the environment and food safety,” said Marco Gasper, logistics manager at BIOGROS. “BIOGROS recently received the Lean & Green 2 Stars-Award thanks to the restructuring and the optimisation of our logistic processes to reduce the CO2 emissions. Our collaboration with FRIGOBLOCK is part of this success.”

“Part of our philosophy is to be close to our customers and provide them with turnkey solutions that are right both from an operational and a sustainability point of view,” said Samer Hawat, area sales and service manager for Belgium and Luxembourg, Thermo King. “We’re proud to work with BIOGROS and be part of this important project, which emphasized the importance of green, quiet and environmentally friendly transport.”

BIOGROS’ 26 tonnes eTGM truck with FRIGOBLOCK FK-25i can carry 18 pallets and has an autonomous reach of up to 200km. This is perfectly suitable for the BIOGROS’ regional distribution of organic food, which is characterised by a lot of stop-and-go operations. One of the additional key advantages of the refrigerated vehicle is the virtual absence of noise pollution, which contributes to whisper-quiet and zero-emission deliveries.

“For years, we have worked closely with BIOGROS providing them with immediate support and specialist advice when and where they needed it,” said Paulo Marques, account manager at Gradius. “Knowing their operations and requirements well, we could offer them with the right refrigeration solution to help maximise the results of this project.”

“With Gradius’ support and FRIGOBLOCK’s expertise we were able to achieve significant savings with the new vehicle. Along with the CO2 emissions that shrank from 97 kg to 1.3 kg per 100 km, the energy consumption is also by two thirds lower than the one of a regular diesel truck,” said Marco Gasper. “We believe the fleet electrification in the retail sector is a trend that is set to continue. Working with Thermo King and FRIGOBLOCK will help us ensure high performing, reliable and sustainable refrigeration for our current and future fleet.”