Weihe – Zero-Carbon & Noise Delivery

Weihe GmbH, a leading fresh food wholesaler in Berlin, uses fully electric refrigeration units, powered by Addvolt’s Plug-in Electric system and monitored on the digital platform My Addvolt. The solution was implemented by Kiesling Fahrzeugbau GmbH and allows continuous cooling even for underground deliveries. The Addvolt system also enables Weihe to meet the challenges of urban distribution by reducing noise and consequently reducing the impact on residents and truck drivers.

Most of Weihe’s deliveries are carried out overnight to hospitals and residential areas, where noise and CO₂ emissions are the biggest challenges. Moreover, Weihe performs deliveries in underground car parks, where noise and CO₂ emissions are prohibited. Considering this, Weihe is putting all efforts into the introduction of zero-emission transportation and relies on Addvolt’s innovative solutions and Kiesling’s support to take one step further in improving people’s health and the air quality in cities.

Through their daily work, Weihe reinforce their high level of commitment to environmental protection, in particular through their proactive approach, which promotes the reduction of packaging consumption, its reuse, and subsequent recycling.

Addvolt and Kiesling work closely with Weihe to follow the path to safe and clean refrigeration. Addvolt’s electrical Plug-in system uses a compact and powerful lithium-ion battery pack with a capacity of 28 kWh to effectively meet Weihe’s operational requirements. The advanced technology offers Weihe more flexibility to provide continuous, highly efficient cooling even in underground car parks. The vehicle delivers goods to 20 customers in Berlin. Since the refrigeration is only performed using electric power, Weihe ensures a silent operation with reduced impact on city residents. The built-in refrigeration unit provides the option of switching to the power take-off (Eco-Drive) which can be used to operate the cooling system. So far, the battery has never been emptied on any trip, despite continuous cooling. This means lower investment in future acquisitions and a reduction in maintenance costs.

Meanwhile, the intelligent and intuitive dashboard My Addvolt supports the fleet manager in decisions with real-time data regarding the goods (temperature, location, door openings, etc.), as well as the energy management.

Addvolt’s Plug-in Electric system provides all-electric, quiet, and highly efficient refrigeration that allows Weihe to perform night-time deliveries in noise-restricted areas. It complies with PIEK and LEZ directives for limitation of noise and emissions.

Since October 2019, this innovative and reliable cooling solution has already avoided more than 5000 kg of CO₂ emissions and allowed fuel savings of over 2000 litres of diesel. As a result, Weihe fulfill their commitment to sustainability while reducing the total costs of ownership.

Michael Berger, Fleet Manager at Weihe, explains: “We were looking for a solution that would ensure a constant temperature during transport while avoiding noise and CO₂ emissions. We can achieve this through electrical operation when delivering. Our proven cooling units are complemented by the Addvolt system which supplies them with power”.

“The investment costs for the Addvolt system are certainly high. The electrical operation reduces the running costs, but initially it does not pay off in terms of costs, only after a few years. We see the main advantage of the Addvolt system in the fact that during delivery, the electric cooling runs continuously at full power. The environmental factor is also very important to us,” concludes Michael Berger.

Learn more on Kiesling’s website here.