Logistics Hub Electrification

Electrified logistics hubs (urban, suburban, or rural) are the heart of clean, connected freight and delivery systems. As e-commerce, automation, and fleet electrification converge, these hubs are evolving from diesel-dominated warehouses into intelligent, low-emission nodes powered by electric vehicles, robotics, and microgrids.

An electrified logistics hub handles goods and packages with electrified material handling equipment (MHE), and charge and dispatch electric delivery fleets such as vans, box trucks, and cargo bikes. Such hubs integrate onsite renewable generation and battery energy storage (microgrids), and serve as a critical node in decarbonized supply chains and last-mile delivery.

A. Electrification Layers

Electric Fleet Depot (~10–15 tons CO2e per vehicle/year)
Charging infrastructure for vans, box trucks, yard tractors, and autonomous delivery vehicles.

Warehouse Electrification
HVAC, LED lighting, automation systems powered by clean electricity.

Material Handling Equipment
Forklifts, conveyors, sorters, AGVs/AMRs—all electric and often autonomous.

Onsite Microgrids
Rooftop and canopy solar arrays with battery storage to offset peak demand.

Public or Semi-Public EVSE
Optional charging stations for visiting vendors, drivers, or shared-use fleets.

B. Electric Vehicles

Electric Cargo Vans (Last-mile urban delivery)
Ford E-Transit, BrightDrop Zevo, Rivian EDV, Mercedes eSprinter.

Electric Box Trucks (Regional distribution)
Freightliner eM2, BYD Class 6/7, Xos Stepvan, Hino M5e.

Yard Tractors (Trailer spotting, yard operations)
Trailer spotting, yard operations.

Autonomous Delivery Bots (Short-distance autonomous delivery)
Nuro R2, Cartken, Refraction AI.

Electric Cargo Bikes (Dense urban core last-1000ft delivery)
Urban Arrow, ONOMOTION, DHL Cubicycle.

C. Charging Infrastructure

Vans + box trucks: 50–150 kW DCFC
Overnight depot charging.

Yard tractors: 100–250 kW DC
Fast charging with V2G potential.

Shared depot use: 150–350 kW DC + load balancing
Smart scheduling, managed charging windows.