Handling steel in a climate-neutral way. Green Steel Logistics on.

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Rhenus SE & Co. KG

FAULHABER Drive Systems

The Rhenus Group is implementing a Green Steel Logistics Hub for steel logistics at its Dortmund location. The aim is to handle steel as climate-neutral as possible.

Logistics service provider Rhenus is turning various screws to make logistics processes more sustainable. A new transhipment hub is now being created in Dortmund under the Rhenus flag, which should serve companies from the steel industry as an important link in a sustainable and emission-reduced supply chain, as the company explains. For the project, they are modernizing one of the existing warehouses. Measures include a new roof, on which a photovoltaic system, covering around 4,000 square meters, is installed. The solar power generated will then supply the crane systems, the building itself and the charging infrastructure for electric trucks with energy. Four electric trucks, which will be used for the last mile between the terminal and the recipient, have already been ordered, as Rhenus emphasizes. With the Green Steel Logistics Hub, Rhenus is primarily addressing the market for rolled and flat steel, thereby enabling CO₂-reduced distribution of steel in the Dortmund region and the eastern Ruhr area. The trimodal terminal in Mathieshafen is conveniently located at important junctions in the heart of the Ruhr area, where there are good connections to motorways and waterways.

Think holistically.

The favorable location then makes it possible to transport the steel from the major seaports to Dortmund by waterway, which is already less emission-intensive compared to other modes of transport, and from there, distribute it further inland using electric trucks, as Rhenus explains. With the ecological modernization of the logistics properties, Rhenus is simultaneously working on an even more emission-reduced inland shipping fleet. Most logistics companies only consider one cog in the supply chain and design it to be green. Rhenus, however, emphasizes its holistic thinking, which includes PV-powered warehouses, diesel-free downstream transport and low-emission transport across European waterways.

Government support is needed.

In a radius of around 50 kilometers around Dortmund, the steel products will be delivered to the customers, as already indicated, via electric trucks. The trucks recharge their batteries at the new Green Steel Logistics Hub at modern e-charging stations. With the Green Steel Logistics Hub in Dortmund, Rhenus is already providing a green infrastructure perspective in the face of an ever-increasing proportion of green steel on the market. The steel producers who are likely to opt for hydrogen energy instead of coal energy in the future are particularly pleased with this. By the way, the project is being funded within the framework of the directive on the promotion of light and heavy commercial vehicles with alternative, climate-friendly drives and associated refueling and charging infrastructure (KsNI) with a total of exactly 1,580,781.82 euros by the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport. The subsidy guideline is coordinated by the Now GmbH, applications are approved by the Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility. Without this support, the transformation of steel transport would not be feasible, Rhenus notes.