G. David Felt

FedEx has 700 planes and over 180,000 vehicles that range from Semi's to delivery vans. Reducing emissions is not easy especially with daily package volume grew by 99.2% from 2009 to 2019. Yet over this same period FedEx reduced CO2 emissions by 40%. This is not an easy feet. FedEx has focused on a simple three-pronged approach to sustainability: Reduce Replace Revolutionize This simple focus has allowed FedEx to reduce their environmental impact in their fleet, facilities and material choices. FedEx has accomplished much through upgrading their fleet of planes to be one of the most modern around to reusable shipping packages. FedEx now move to make another major change and that is to replace their diesel delivery fleet of vans with electric vans. FedEx has choosen BrightDrop, a gm startup that has two new products at the lauch. An electric ePallet and the electric delivery van. The electric ePallat or EP1 is a propulsion-assisted electric pallet developed to move goods over short distances. Examples are from the delivery vehicle to the customers door. The EP1 will reduce touch points, costs and physical strain on delivery drivers. The EP1 features and benefits include the following: Built-in electric hub motors with adjustable speed up to 3 mph depending on the operators walking pace. Maneuverable in tight spaces. Carries and secures approximately 23 total cubic feet of cargo. Payload capacity of 200 lbs. Adjustable shelving organizes contents. Lockable cabinet doors allow for secure, remote access to contents. BrightDrop EV600 which will be their first electric van out in late 2021 is a light commercial vehicle purpose-built for delivery of goods and services over long ranges. The EV600 includes advanced safety features and conveniences found in modern day consumer electric auto's. EV600 features and benefits include the following: Powered by the ultium battery system, the EV600 has an estimated range of 250 miles per charge. Peak charge rate of 170 miles per hour via 120kW DC fast charger. Over 600 cubic feet of cargo area GVWR of less than 10,000 lbs Segment leading safety features Standard safety features2 include: Front and Rear Park Assist, Automatic Emergency Braking, Forward Collision Alert, Following Distance Indicator, Front Pedestrian Braking, Lane Keep Assist with Lane Departure Warning, IntelliBeam automatic high beams and HD Rear Vision Camera. Additional available safety and driver assistance features include: Rear Cross Traffic Braking, Blind Zone Steering Assist, Reverse Automatic Braking, HD Surround Vision, Rear Pedestrian Alert, Enhanced Automatic Emergency Braking, among others. Cargo area security system with motion sensors to help keep cargo secure. 13.4 inch diagonal full color infotainment screen Front Sliding pocket doors, wide cabin walkways and a large auto-open cargo bulkhead door all contribute to optimize driver efficiency. FedEx in partnership with gm found that their delivery drivers using the EP1 were able to deliver 25% more packages per day. BrightDrop and FedEx have additional pilots of new products taking place in 2021. Quote: “Our need for reliable, sustainable transportation has never been more important,” said Richard Smith, FedEx Express regional president of the Americas and executive vice president of global support. "BrightDrop is a perfect example of the innovations we are adopting to transform our company as time-definite express transportation continues to grow. With this new suite of products, we will help improve the safety, security and timeliness of FedEx Express deliveries, while reducing our environmental impact and protecting the well-being of our couriers." FedEx is the official launch customer for the BrightDrop EV600 and EP1 in the Americas region with Canada and the United States being first before expanding across the rest of Americas. Per FedEx, they are assessing all options for their global operations and will expand existing supplier products as possible to new regions as well as consider other products from various vendors. FedEx Sustainability GM Launches BrightDrop, a New Business That Will Electrify and Improve the Delivery of Goods and Services BrightDrop | Electric first to last mile delivery products (gobrightdrop.com)