Sustainable freight solutions are being developed by a tech start-up that aims to create a universal industry standard.
Zeus is an award-winning tech start-up that launched its low-carbon multimodal solution this year as it expands into rail across Europe, using their proprietary Zeus technology combined with green intermodal options to help major manufacturers reduce carbon emissions by up to 70 per cent.
Zeus has taken on Dr Christopher de Saxe, currently senior research associate at the Centre for Sustainable Road Freight, University of Cambridge, to develop further on Zeus’s plans to provide true sustainable freight.
Christopher will be Zeus’s first head of sustainability charged with developing commercial pilot programs with electric HGVs and alternative fuels, pushing forward Zeus’s own Net Zero strategy, and will be the company’s representative on the Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) and Sustainable Freight Buyers Alliance, both of which Zeus is a member.
At Cambridge he has helped design trials for battery electric and catenary electric HGVs in the UK as part of a consortium of university and industry partners. Prior to this he was a Principal Engineer at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa, where he led international teams solving sustainable freight transport challenges in both developed and developing countries.
Joining officially in April, Dr de Saxe’s role at Zeus will report directly to the chief operating officer Alistair Lindsay and will involve developing and applying the GLEC emissions standards throughout the company’s products and services for shippers. As well as conducting research and development of new sustainable freight initiatives and contributing to GLEC’s new standards in greenhouse gas measurement and reductions.
The announcement comes as Zeus, which operates a next-generation freight management platform, also launched a new ‘green’ multimodal solution in Europe having conducted a successful pilot with a major manufacturer client. This unique solution uses rail freight, clean HGVs, and the Zeus technology to reduce tailpipe carbon emissions by up to 70 per cent.
“Climate change is no longer a debate, it’s a deadline,” said Clemente Theotokis, Zeus co-founder and joint-managing director. “Zeus’s appointment of Christopher de Saxe is strengthening our commitment to helping provide radical improvements in sustainable freight which sustainable procurement professionals and transport teams can implement right now.”
The Zeus freight platform already provides benefits such as 71 per cent fewer administrative hours for shippers and up to 37 per cent more revenue for partner hauliers. It also helps reduce paper by digitalisation of the entire freight process and reduced empty miles by 22 per cent in 2021.
Dr. Christopher de Saxe added: “Zeus is taking climate action seriously and is dedicated to helping companies in their sustainability journeys through simple but effective decarbonisation services. I’m excited to be joining this dynamic team and helping Zeus to deliver on its ambitious sustainable freight vision.”
