Over the last 65 years, the department store company IKEA has grown from a local shop in Älmhult, Sweden, to a globally recognizable brand with 460 stores worldwide. The company has set some ambitious climate targets with a fast-approaching deadline of 2030. The most aggressive goal is to be 100% powered by renewable energy across the IKEA value chain. IKEA also wants to offer zero-emission home deliveries.
IKEA is embracing the other aspects of ESG aside from just the environmental component. It has a reuse program that gives IKEA furniture a second life. It has a growing refugee support program, funding for social entrepreneurs, and the company promotes gender balance, equal pay, and a fair and equal social impact policy across its value chain.
Quantron AG, a German e-mobility company, announced the delivery of five hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) trucks to IKEA Austria. IKEA Austria is already using 56 Quantron battery-electric vehicles, which saves an estimated 450 tons (408 tonnes) of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year. The addition of the Quantron QLI FCEV trucks are expected to save an additional 160 tons (145 tonnes) of CO2 per year. By 2025, IKEA Austria plans to make 100% of its last-mile deliveries emissions-free. The company intends to expand its fleet of hydrogen trucks to 40 units by 2025.
The zero-emissions transporters will be fueled with green hydrogen from energy supplier Wien Energie. “By introducing the hydrogen trucks — as the first IKEA market worldwide — we succeed in Austria in taking a big step in implementing environmentally friendly processes. In this way, as a pioneer in the field of sustainable logistics, we want to show that a transformation to zero-emissions delivery is already possible today,” said Alpaslan Deliloglu, chief executive officer and chief sustainability officer at IKEA Austria.
The fuel cell vehicles were developed in collaboration with Ballard Power Systems, a Canadian fuel cell technology company. The entire process from feasibility study to delivery took 18 months, enabling the Quantron QLI FCEV to hit the road in record time. According to Quantron, its technology offers a user-friendly complete package with e-axle, customized high-performance battery, fuel cell and tank system integration, and unique energy management and aerodynamics for maximum efficiency. One tank of fuel is sufficient for a range of up to 249 miles (400 km), allowing distances of more than 311 miles (500 km) per day.
“We are delighted that our long-standing collaboration with IKEA has reached another level with the launch of a new generation of innovative Quantron products,” said Andreas Haller, founder and executive chair of Quantron. “The QLI FCEV is the first hydrogen vehicle in the fuel cell commercial vehicle segment up to 7.5 tons in Europe and the market leader in fuel cell technology in this class. We have been supporting IKEA Austria on its mission of decarbonization since August 2021. IKEA Austria has 45 QLI BEV trucks in use in the greater Vienna area and a further 11 in other Austrian cities.”
