MAN Truck & Bus and Dettendorfer Energy have launched a new “Green Brenner” initiative aimed at increasing the use of battery-electric trucks on one of Europe’s busiest Alpine freight routes.
The initiative brings together partners from the transport, energy, and infrastructure sectors to develop the Brenner corridor as a model region for zero-emission road freight. MAN says the project is intended to complement, rather than compete with, rail freight, especially until the delayed Brenner Base Tunnel is completed.
The Brenner route remains one of the most heavily used freight corridors across the Alps. According to the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, more than 2.5 million trucks, 14 million vehicles and 50 million tonnes of goods cross the pass each year. The Brenner Base Tunnel, co-funded by the EU, is intended to shift more traffic from road to rail on the Munich–Verona axis, but the tunnel is not expected to open until 2032.
MAN Truck and Bus
Up to 95 tonnes of CO₂ savings per truck
According to MAN, one battery-electric truck can save around 95 tonnes of CO₂ per year compared with a diesel truck, based on annual mileage of 110,000 kilometres. If 300 electric trucks used the corridor daily, the company says annual CO₂ savings could reach up to 28,000 tonnes.
Dr Frederik Zohm, Executive Board Member for Research and Development at MAN Truck & Bus, described the Brenner as “a stress test for European freight transport” and said electric trucks could already contribute to easing the burden before the tunnel is completed.
The initiative also points to local environmental benefits in the Alpine valleys. MAN says electric trucks are 12.6 dB quieter than comparable diesel trucks during accelerated departure, which means they are perceived as roughly half as loud. The company also says battery-electric trucks reduce local particulate emissions because there is no combustion engine, while recuperation on downhill stretches can reduce brake wear.
Lower energy and toll costs
The commercial argument is also central to the initiative: MAN says that, at an annual mileage of around 110,000 kilometres, energy costs for electric trucks are around 40% lower than for diesel trucks at current diesel prices. It also claims that, on the Brenner route, electric trucks can recover up to around 40% of the energy used through recuperation on downhill sections.
Toll costs are another factor. According to MAN, electric trucks offer a further cost advantage of around 80% on tolls, and the total cost of ownership over three years is around 20% lower than that of a comparable diesel truck.
Georg Dettendorfer, Managing Director of Dettendorfer Spedition Ferntrans and Dettendorfer Energy, said the initiative was intended to show that zero-emission transport in the Alpine region is already “economically attractive” rather than a long-term prospect.
Dettendorfer Energy is a joint venture between regional energy supplier Energie Südbayern and Dettendorfer Spedition. Dettendorfer’s transport business operates around 240 tractor units, according to MAN.
Charging infrastructure remains the key condition
The initiative’s expansion will depend heavily on charging infrastructure and grid capacity along the corridor. MAN says the project builds on initial practical experience and is aimed at traffic that cannot be avoided or shifted to other modes.
The Brenner corridor has long been at the centre of disputes over Alpine transit traffic, with Austria, Bavaria and Italy previously discussing measures such as digital slot booking for trucks to manage congestion. For hauliers, however, the Green Brenner initiative points to a different kind of pressure: whether electric trucks can offer a practical and cost-competitive option on a route shaped by gradients, tolls, local restrictions and political pressure to reduce road emissions.
