Volvo Car Gent is testing automated shunting – for more sustainable and efficient port transport
In the future, autonomous electric lorries could reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 4,000 tonnes per year in port transport.
Over 660 journeys a day. That is the number of lorry journeys for incoming and outgoing goods and products – covering some 21,000 km, the majority of which are currently carried out by diesel lorries – that Volvo Car Gent generates every day on and around its site in the port area. To make these operations more sustainable, safer, but above all more efficient, the car manufacturer wants to test whether some of these journeys could be carried out autonomously in the future.
From diesel-powered lorries to autonomous electric lorries
In the future, Volvo plans to deploy electric trucks to cover the ‘last mile’, transporting car parts to the factory (inbound logistics) and finished cars leaving the factory (outbound logistics), without a driver in the cab. On a daily basis, this could eliminate a large number of journeys currently made using traditional transport. The autonomous vehicles would be managed by a fleet manager who coordinates and directs all flows to eliminate overlapping waiting times en route and on site. This means fewer drivers are needed, but also lower CO₂ emissions (a reduction of up to 4,000 tonnes per year is possible), which fits perfectly with Volvo’s sustainability goals.
Port area as a test case for further scaling up
But could this also be rolled out on a larger scale and become a viable business case? The idea was pitched earlier this year to Flemish Minister for Mobility Annick De Ridder, who was a guest at North Sea Port, where various port partners outlined their innovative plans for the future. Volvo Car Gent aims to launch an initial trial within its own premises this year, but is also seeking partners among the companies at North Sea Port and Smart Delta Resources to further shape and develop this initiative. Autonomous shunting with the port area as a test case.
In Belgium, Antwerp was the first to introduce this last year, although at the time it was more of a demonstration and the autonomous vehicles are not yet being used outside the company’s own premises. The legislative framework still needs to be amended and refined to make this possible in practice.
“Automatic shunting is not a distant dream,” says Werner Schils, Senior Manager of the Plant Business Office and Strategy at Volvo Car Gent. “The technology is available. It is important for our sector to act as quickly as possible and demonstrate that this can represent an unprecedented step forward in the efficiency and reliability of transport operations. By organising part of our logistics flows in this way, the number of manual/human actions can be reduced, and work can also be carried out in a more standardised – and therefore safer – manner. Moreover, our parts and goods can be imported and exported 24/7 in this way, without being dependent on the scarce human resources in the transport sector, which increases operational flexibility. Our ambition is to organise the entire supply chain in this way in the long term.”
A call to partners and policymakers
Volvo Car Gent is already taking the lead within North Sea Port to further develop and roll out the pilot project. It is now up to policymakers to facilitate the legal framework and provide the necessary financial support to make this groundbreaking technology a reality.
Key figures
Application: automated shunting using autonomous electric trucks
Scale: approx. 660 journeys per day (approx. 21,000 km)
Current situation: largely diesel-powered transport
Potential:
- CO₂ reduction of up to approx. 4,000 tonnes/year,
- increased efficiency and safety
- 24/7 logistics, less reliance on drivers
Status: trial planned within company premises (2026)
Scaling up: exploration with partners in North Sea Port and Smart Delta Resources
Prerequisite: amendment of the legal framework for deployment outside company premises
