(Credit: Eviation)DHL Express has ordered 12 all-electric Alice eCargo planes from Eviation, maker of the world’s first all-electric aircraft. The cargo planes are expected to be delivered in 2024.
The Alice, which can be flown by a single pilot, is capable of carrying 1,200 kilograms and requires 30 minutes or less to charge per flight hour with a maximum range of up to 815 kilometers. The aircraft, scheduled for its first flight later this year, can be configured for both cargo or passenger flights.
Major players across the aviation value chain are increasingly stepping up their investments and actions toward achieving a climate-friendly, low-carbon future. In recent months, industry consortiums like the Target True Zero initiative aimed at accelerating zero-emissions aviation have launched. Additionally, a number of airports and airlines have announced completed or forthcoming sustainability-focused projects and plans, including but not limited to, New York’s LaGuardia airport, Pittsburgh’s international airport, JetBlue, Boeing and Alaska Airlines.
“We firmly believe in a future with zero-emission logistics,” says John Pearson, CEO of DHL Express. “Therefore, our investments always follow the objective of improving our carbon footprint. On our way to clean logistics operations, the electrification of every transport mode plays a crucial role and will significantly contribute to our overall sustainability goal of zero emissions.”
Earlier this year, DPDHL Group, the parent company of DHL Express, laid out an accelerated sustainability roadmap, which includes investment of 7 billion euros by 2030 for its climate-neutral logistics solutions along with a GHG emissions reduction target in line with the Paris Climate Agreement established under the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), and management board compensation linked to sustainability.
