Einride, a Swedish technology company that designs and develops technology for freight mobility, announced that it will be partnering with Oatly, the original oat drink company, to transition to a sustainable transport solution with all-electric vehicles in the Swedish market. The partnership will commence in Q4 of 2020 in Sweden, making Oatly one of the world’s first companies to electrify transportation on commercial routes.

With electric trucks, Einride will support the transport of Oatly’s finished oat-based products from their production facilities in Sweden, to intermediate destinations within the market. Oatly will also make use of the Einride Freight Mobility Platform to track and manage shipments in real time, visualize shipping volume, distance driven, and associated emissions to reduce future costs and carbon impact from shipments.

Oatly is known around the world for challenging the food industry and driving necessary change toward more sustainable food consumption and production.

“Sustainability is at the core of everything we do and we are committed to driving change across the food industry through embracing new sustainable solutions in every area of our business. Electrical transportation is a key part of our Supply Chain strategy globally and on these routes, we will be reducing our carbon footprint by 87 percent. So naturally we are super-excited at exploring this new opportunity with Einride” says Simon Broadbent, Supply Chain Director at Oatly.

As a leader in the transition to smart, electrified, and autonomous freight mobility, Einride shares the same values of challenging the status quo to create a more sustainable world, making the partnership a perfect fit.

“Road freight transport as it currently exists is a system that drastically needs to change. Nearly 7 percent of global CO2 emissions come from this road freight, a figure that will only increase if we do not switch to more sustainable solutions like Einride’s Freight Mobility Platform, which enables both a sustainable business and environment. We are proud to grow our intelligent movement alongside Oatly, a pioneer in sustainable food production,” says Robert Falck, CEO and Founder of Einride.

Sharing the Green Deal vision of sustainable transport and a carbon neutral Europe by 2050, two leading companies in the commercial vehicle industry, Daimler Truck AG and the Volvo Group, have signed a preliminary non-binding agreement to establish a new joint venture. The intention is to develop, produce and commercialize fuel cell systems for heavy-duty vehicle applications and other use cases. Daimler will consolidate all its current fuel cell activities in the joint venture. The Volvo Group will acquire 50% in the joint venture for the sum of approximately EUR 0.6 billion on a cash and debt free basis.

“Transport and logistics keep the world moving, and the need for transport will continue to grow. Truly CO2-neutral transport can be accomplished through electric drive trains with energy coming either from batteries or by converting hydrogen on board into electricity. For trucks to cope with heavy loads and long distances, fuel cells are one important answer and a technology where Daimler has built up significant expertise through its Mercedes-Benz fuel cell unit over the last two decades. This joint initiative with the Volvo Group is a milestone in bringing fuel cell powered trucks and buses onto our roads,” says Martin Daum, Chairman of the Board of Management Daimler Truck AG and Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG.

“Electrification of road transport is a key element in delivering the so called Green Deal, a carbon neutral Europe and ultimately a carbon neutral world. Using hydrogen as a carrier of green electricity to power electric trucks in long-haul operations is one important part of the puzzle, and a complement to battery electric vehicles and renewable fuels. Combining the Volvo Group and Daimler’s experience in this area to accelerate the rate of development is good both for our customers and for society as a whole. By forming this joint venture, we are clearly showing that we believe in hydrogen fuel cells for commercial vehicles. But for this vision to become reality, other companies and institutions also need to support and contribute to this development, not least in order to establish the fuel infrastructure needed,” says Martin Lundstedt, Volvo Group President and CEO.

The Volvo Group and Daimler Truck AG will be 50/50 partners in the joint venture, which will operate as an independent and autonomous entity, with Daimler Truck AG and the Volvo Group continuing to be competitors in all other areas of business. Joining forces will decrease development costs for both companies and accelerate the market introduction of fuel cell systems in products used for heavy-duty transport and demanding long-haul applications. In the context of the current economic downturn cooperation has become even more necessary in order to meet the Green Deal objectives within a feasible time-frame.

The common goal is for both companies to offer heavy-duty vehicles with fuel cells for demanding long-haul applications in series production in the second half of the decade. In addition, other automotive and non-automotive use cases are also part of the new joint venture’s scope.

To enable the joint venture, Daimler Trucks is bringing together all group-wide fuel cell activities in a new Daimler Truck fuel cell unit. Part of this bundling of activities is the allocation of the operations of “Mercedes-Benz Fuel Cell GmbH”, which has longstanding experience in the development of fuel cell and hydrogen storage systems for various vehicle applications, to Daimler Truck AG.

The joint venture will include the operations in Nabern/Germany (currently headquarters of the Mercedes-Benz Fuel Cell GmbH) with production facilities in Germany and Canada.

The signed preliminary agreement is non-binding. A final agreement is expected by Q3 and closing before year-end 2020. All potential transactions are subject to examination and approval by the responsible competition authorities.

Facts: Fuel cells and hydrogen as fuel

• A hydrogen fuel cell converts the chemical energy of the fuel, in this case hydrogen, and oxygen (in the air) into electricity. The electricity powers the electrical motors that propel an electrical vehicle.
• There are two main ways to produce the hydrogen needed. So-called green hydrogen can be produced locally at the gas station, using electricity to convert water into hydrogen. Blue hydrogen is expected to be produced from natural gas, utilizing carbon capture technology to create a carbon neutral fuel.

The Astros Foundation, in partnership with Crane Worldwide, will be providing funding, logistics and transportation support for much-needed medical equipment to serve those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Houston.

The team has been working to ensure fast and safe delivery of critical medical supplies and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from across the globe to the Houston hospitals within the Texas Medical Center. Additionally, the Astros Foundation will donate $400,000 to support the hospitals within the Texas Medical Center.

Crane Worldwide delivered the first shipment of 100,000 test swabs to several hospitals. In the next 10 days, critical PPE, including masks, forehead thermometers, more test swabs and other key items, will be delivered.

“We are grateful for the healthcare workers and everything that the healthcare industry is doing at this crucial time,” said Astros Owner and Chairman Jim Crane. “Critical supplies needed to save lives have been in short supply and difficult to source quickly and safely. We are glad to provide funding and important resources needed for our hospitals to continue to serve those in need.  The Astros and the Astros Foundation will continue to step up and serve our Houston community.

If we all work together, we will get through this together.”