Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. and DHL Group have signed a new memorandum of understanding to explore green freight corridors in Europe, expanding their cooperation on the electrification of logistics. The companies announced the agreement on Sept. 14 in Hanover, Germany. It builds on a global memorandum of understanding signed in September 2024 and places a stronger focus on decarbonizing European road freight.
Under the new framework, the two companies will look at potential corridors for electrification, engage electric vehicle manufacturers, and assess both mobile and stationary charging infrastructure. They also plan to conduct battery swapping pilots. CATL said the aim is to combine DHL’s day-to-day logistics requirements with CATL’s battery, charging, and swapping technologies to identify operating models that could be replicated across different routes, rather than relying on a single technology or one-off demonstration.
The agreement does not name specific corridors, investment levels, or launch timelines. CATL said individual projects will be defined later, depending on the needs of each route and the partners involved. Possible participants in charging and energy infrastructure include QUIBO Energy, which is backed strategically by CATL and Xiaomi, and FleetBoost, a European provider of high-power charging and energy storage solutions. QUIBO Energy, formerly known as SUNNIC, and FleetBoost previously developed the FleetBooster 20 and 40 using CATL battery technology and are now working on scalable mobile energy and charging systems.
Battery swapping efforts may involve Swaptopus, the joint venture formed by CATL and Octopus Energy to develop an electric truck battery swapping network in Europe. When that venture was announced in June, the companies said the first demonstration stations were expected to begin operating in the UK in 2027, with the network eventually expanding to more than 30 stations by 2035.
The freight electrification cooperation comes as CATL continues to expand its commercial vehicle battery lineup. On Sept. 14 in Hanover, the company also introduced its Tectrans II commercial vehicle battery solution. CATL said the heavy-duty truck version can deliver up to 1,000 kilometers of range in its highest configuration and supports both charging and battery swapping. DHL said its goal is to reach net-zero logistics-related carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
Source: CnEVPost
