Four electric trucks without cabs will move goods between snack maker Lorenz’s factory and warehouse. They will carry products, raw materials and empty pallets around its site in Neunburg vorm Wald, Bavaria. Staff will monitor the journeys continuously, both on site and remotely.
Einride and Lorenz presented the fleet on 4 November. The five-year project makes autonomous transport part of everyday factory operations. Einride owns the vehicles and operates the service.
Each vehicle can carry 15 pallets per trip. The companies say a round trip takes 30 to 45 minutes. They expect to move up to 1,200 pallets a day. A short, repetitive route is particularly well suited to automation.
Software schedules and coordinates the trips. Two conventional electric trucks are on standby if an autonomous vehicle becomes unavailable, so the backup fleet is electric too.
According to the joint announcement, solar panels at the plant supply the charging power.
