There is an urgent need for a change in the European (and global) freight transport and logistics industry. Road transport is presently still the preferred mode of freight transport in the EU. In 2012, road transport accounted for >79% of the total cargo in EU, representing 92% of the external costs (costs for the society caused by pollution, accidents, congestions, etc.). Hence, there is a very high potential to improve the sustainability and performance of freight transport by moving road-based transport towards more sustainable transportation means, such as rail.
At the same time, the market for freight solutions is significant and growing. Frost and Sullivan estimates total European revenues for road and rail freight at €435 billion in 2012 (€390 bn for road and €45 bn for rail freight). Therefore, there is a good business opportunity for new effective solutions within this area. In parallel, governments are pushing for stricter rules in the environmental area thereby supporting green solutions.
Safe Green Logistics A/S (SGL) is an innovative logistics company with a mission to optimize efficiency in the European and global freight transport and logistics. SGL together with key partner PVF Schinenfahrzeuge (PVF), specialized in engineering and product maturation for cargo/freight industries, aim at pursuing the aforementioned business opportunity by demonstrating an efficient and cost-effective freight logistics system based on multimodal transport as an alternative to road transport.
The innovation is based upon a truck/train container transfer system (CTS) and a disruptive re-organization of the freight logistical networks in regional Base terminals. By bringing the disruptive SAFE-CTS concept to market, SGL will drastically optimize the entire inland freight value chain, through cheaper, faster and greener transport of goods. It will empower a paradigm shift by moving part of the increasing freight transport demand from road to more efficient multimodal rail-road transport logistics.
The ultimate long-term vision of SGL is to revolutionize the entire freight transport industry through the massive use of the SAFE-CTS technology. However, the company acknowledges the high risk involved and the need to engage a large number of stakeholders throughout the whole value chain in order to accomplish this ambitious vision. Hence, SGL has decided to follow a phased approach to commercialize the SAFE-CTS system. Firstly, SGL will aim at the demonstration and commercial deployment of SAFE-CTS in individual routes comprising point-to-point transport. This prospect of point-to-point transport lines with one intermodal Base at either end represents a fast route to market by limiting financial, regulatory and technological risks. Once the concept and its value proposition has been proved in the operation of these point-to-point lines, SGL expects to scale the implementation of the concept within enlarged regions comprising networks of several railway lines/cargo routes – thus deploying the full logistical concept, including automatic sorting central HUBs, and related aggregated advantages.
The present innovation project will focus on demonstrating the SAFE-CTS technology in the transhipment of containers loaded with cargo from a truck trailer to a train wagon. This will be the first step towards showcasing the concept and validating the technology under operational conditions, thus representing a key milestone for overcoming prevailing market entrance barriers for SGL.
