eEconic fleet paves the way for Karlsruhe's sustainable waste disposal concept.

Increased uptime, reduced costs.

At the heart of this project in Karlsruhe lies the accurately coordinated charging infrastructure, which was developed in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz Trucks eConsulting and S&G Automobil AG in order to integrate the eEconic into the Karlsruhe-based company's operations as seamlessly as possible. 

The “satellite charging systems” spread around the city that are operated by the depot are equipped with two 400 kW power units each, which supply a total of eight wall-mounted charging points with 100 kW each. This system ensures that the TSK’s vehicles are ready for use at all times.

The sophisticated charging infrastructure ensures that the vehicles are charged as efficiently as possible. At the same time, it improves charging times and minimises electricity costs. An intelligent energy management system avoids voltage peaks in the power grid and prioritises charging processes to match the needs of individual vehicles. In the long term, the company is planning to commission a photovoltaic system that will supply the vehicles with electricity generated on site. 

Remarkable balance. 

In addition to these technical measures, the Mercedes-Benz eEconic already impresses ex works with three 112 kWh batteries each and a range of up to 100 km per charge¹ in waste collection operations – more than enough for day-to-day use. Multimedia Cockpit Interactive can provide all important information on battery status, energy consumption and remaining range in real time while driving. Thanks to this intelligent technology, the fleet can also be manoeuvred along roads with high efficiency.

In addition to this already remarkable environmental footprint, every Mercedes-Benz eEconic saves around 24.3 t of CO₂ each year. For Karlsruhe specifically, this means a total annual saving of around 170 tonnes of CO₂. 

When switching to environmentally friendly disposal with the eEconic, the team can rely on a strong backing: the procurement of the new vehicles is supported by the Federal Ministry of Transport as part of the directive promoting light and heavy commercial vehicles with alternative, climate-friendly drive systems as well as associated refuelling and charging infrastructure (KsNI) with up to 80% of the eligible additional expenditure, a maximum of EUR 1,980,602.60. NOW GmbH supports the programme, the Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility approves the applications.

The plan is to convert TSK's entire fleet to alternative drive systems by 2035 – with the aim of reducing the city's CO₂ emissions to zero. Karlsruhe is thus sending a strong signal on the way to a cleaner and less noisy city. 

¹ The range specified is provisional and was determined using an internal simulation tool based on optimal conditions, including 3 new battery packs after preconditioning in a partially loaded state in inner-city waste collection (VECTO Municipal Cycle up to 100 km) or mixed waste collection (combined from VECTO Municipal Cycle, VECTO Regional Delivery and VECTO Urban Delivery Cycle up to 150 km) at an outside temperature of 20 °C, and may differ from the values determined in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/2400. The actual range is highly dependent on driving behaviour, the application profile and the type of body, among other factors.