EcoDuo: 32-Meter Truck Combo Tests for Efficient, Green Freight
The EcoDuo, a 32-meter long vehicle combination consisting of two standard semi-trailers and one tractor unit, is being tested by German and Spanish companies to make road freight transport more efficient and climate-friendly. Around 1,000 EcoDuo vehicles are already in operation in Spain and Scandinavia, where higher permissible total weights make operation more economically attractive.
The EcoDuo is particularly suitable for volume transport, such as plastic parts for automobile production, textiles, or parcels, with a current payload of up to nine tons per trailer. To make the EcoDuo work in everyday life, legal requirements need to be adjusted, including expanding the regulation on exceptions to road traffic rules to include a new vehicle type 'Type 6' for truck combinations up to 32 meters in length.
The industry sees the EcoDuo mainly in hub-to-hub traffic and in the inbound and outbound traffic of combined transport, with no concerns about operational safety as it meets all technical standards and does not exceed permissible axle loads or total weights. The project coalition demands political decisions to enable the regular operation of the EcoDuo in Germany, including adjustments to terminal infrastructure and the necessary regulatory framework for its integration into existing combined transport systems, to achieve efficiency gains and CO₂ reduction in freight transport after the pilot project's completion.
The EcoDuo project consortium includes the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), Schmitz Cargobull, the Spanish logistics company Sese, Kombiverkehr, Volkswagen Group Logistics, and TÜV Rheinland. The EcoDuo can be loaded onto the rail without additional technical adjustments, only requiring sufficient space for maneuvering and waiting areas at transshipment terminals. It increases transport capacity per trip, reducing trips and thus emissions, and could help alleviate the driver shortage by requiring fewer drivers for the same transport volume.
The EcoDuo has been making regular trips between Wolfsburg, Lehrte, and Barcelona since September 2024, testing its everyday usability in the pre- and post-run of combined transport. However, the current limit of 44 tons in Germany restricts its deployment possibilities, and higher permissible total weights could significantly increase its economic significance. The project partners emphasize the potential of the EcoDuo to contribute to efficiency gains and CO₂ reduction in freight transport, and they call for political decisions to enable its regular operation in Germany.
