SMATRICS is launching the Depot Club, an e-logistics network across Austria and Germany
SMATRICS is launching the Depot Club with its first two members in Upper Austria and Salzburg—a continuously growing network that specifically connects logistics companies. Owners of electric truck charging stations can open up available charging slots to authorized members, thereby making better use of their infrastructure, while electric truck fleets gain access to predictable charging options at favorable rates along their routes.
In times of volatile energy prices, e-mobility acts as a stabilizing factor—as evidenced by developments in the commercial vehicle market. In logistics, electric driving has proven to be economically and environmentally robust. Accordingly, many companies combine public charging stations with on-site charging. “Thinking purely in terms of hub-to-hub routes is, first of all, unrealistic and, secondly, encourages the growth of isolated charging silos. This is not only uneconomical for depot operators but also a disadvantage for national and international competitiveness in the long run. With the SMATRICS Depot Club, we are countering this trend and making the system more robust,” emphasizes Hauke Hinrichs, CEO of SMATRICS.
The first club members are Hasenöhrl Bau GmbH from Upper Austria and Friedl GmbH from Salzburg. Effective immediately, they are providing depot charging facilities for electric trucks at their locations in St. Pantaleon, Arbing, and Freistadt (Upper Austria), as well as Berndorf near Salzburg (Salzburg). Thomas Friedl, Managing Director of Friedl GmbH, emphasizes: “With Depot Charging, we are taking another important step in expanding the infrastructure for sustainable logistics.” Hinrichs adds: “Because the Depot Club connects logistics into a strong charging ecosystem and creates a win-win situation for the entire industry—exactly where it matters in everyday life.” The club is continuously expanding to include new members and is set to expand into Germany in the next phase.
From isolated charging solutions to a shared solution
The SMATRICS Depot Club offers benefits for everyone involved: Logistics providers who want to open their own depot to other electric trucks have the opportunity to increase the utilization of their own charging infrastructure, thereby tapping into an additional source of revenue. They determine the charging times and the extent of availability for partner companies. Electric trucks, on the other hand, can optimize their route planning and charge at lower prices thanks to an expanded charging network. In concrete terms, this means moving away from duplicate investments and low utilization toward greater cost-effectiveness and fewer detours.
Charging-as-a-Service lowers the entry barriers to e-logistics
With the Depot Club, SMATRICS is taking the first step towards realizing its vision of a new, connected e-logistics ecosystem: The long-term goal is to plan charging infrastructure based on actual transport flows rather than political borders. With Charging-as-a-Service approaches, such as those in the Depot Club, the available e-truck-friendly charging infrastructure is multiplied overnight, and entry barriers for logistics companies are massively reduced—a decisive lever in a market with already low margins. At the same time, the reliable predictability of charging stops increases utilization and gives e-logistics providers back the much-needed flexibility and freedom to adapt.
Find all the information about the SMATRICS Depot Club here.