Crossing the Brenner Pass at night with zero emissions

Diesel trucks are banned from driving at night on the A12 motorway in the Inn valley. eTrucks, on the other hand, are allowed to use this route – and MAN and the Dettendorfer freight forwarding company are taking advantage of this opportunity. In July and August, they are testing the night-time deployment of fully electric trucks on a route across the Brenner, between Raubling and Bolzano, as part of a four-week pilot project. Both partners are aiming to ease traffic flow on the Brenner Pass, avoid congestion, reduce CO₂ and noise emissions and increase the reliability of supply – especially during the holiday period.

In theory, it has been possible to cross the Brenner at night using eTrucks since 2021, but this has so far proven difficult to implement in practice because, until now, there have been neither suitable eTrucks nor a comprehensive charging infrastructure along the route. The MAN eTruck solves both problems: it can handle ranges of up to 800 kilometres with just one recharge in both winter and summer. This means it can operate overnight along the entire cross-border route between Germany and Italy – such as from Munich to Verona or from Rosenheim through the Brenner Pass to Bolzano and back.

Toll savings of more than €60,000 per year in Germany

Operating electric trucks on the Brenner Pass also makes economic sense. With an annual mileage of over 110,000 kilometres on German motorways, the toll savings amount to more than €60,000 per vehicle per year. However, the 100 per cent toll exemption currently only applies in Germany. Different regulations apply in other countries: on the A13 in Austria, eTrucks pay up to 75 per cent less in tolls, especially at night. In Italy, on the other hand, there are only marginal differences between diesel and electric trucks on the route across the Brenner Pass to Bolzano.

New benchmarks in terms of efficiency, sustainability and traffic control

“With this project, we are showing that fully electric trucks are not only practical, but also setting new benchmarks in terms of efficiency, sustainability and traffic control, through recuperation and the possibility of overnight transport amongst other things,” said Dr. Frederik Zohm, Executive Board Member for Research & Development at MAN Truck & Bus. “Politics and industry must work together to make emission-free logistics a reality across the board.”