An electric and solar-powered delivery boat to replace thousands of trucks in Lyon
A new boat is sailing the Rhône and Saône rivers: the Evoli, whose mission is to replace the trucks that deliver goods to the city centre.
Lyon, France
Up to 6,500 fewer trucks in Lyon city centre in one year: that’s the promise of the river transport company Ecofluv, based in the Metropolis of Lyon. Since April, the Evoli has been sailing the Rhône and Saône rivers, with the capacity to transport 125 tonnes.
The couple who developed the initiative, Dario and Turkun Malcuit, explain that during each of its six daily trips the ship replaces the equivalent of three articulated trucks, and 15,000 kilometres travelled by trucks on the roads of Greater Lyon.
Given the high levels of road congestion in the city, these figures are a hopeful sign. According to 2018 figures, more than 85 percent of goods delivered in Lyon are transported by road. In 2022, these deliveries accounted for 30 percent of all road use, leading to Lyon being the third most congested city in France.
With its two rivers, Lyon is banking on river transport as a viable solution for relieving congestion. The European Union clearly believes in the idea: it is providing the Evoli with 365,742 euro from the European Regional Development Fund, for a project that costs a total of 3.25 million.
An electric vessel
It is Monday 13 May 2024, and Dario Malcuit, the Evoli’s owner, is on a routine outing with his sky-blue boat. Wearing a sailor’s jersey, the captain sends a warning over the radio: “Evoli approaching the La Mulatière bridge from downstream.” The Evoli has just left the port of Edouard-Herriot, in the south of Lyon, and is sailing on calm waters towards the Confluence district.
All is quiet: there is no hum of engines on the Evoli. Its main source of power is electric batteries, which have to be recharged every six hours. In addition to this primary system, the vessel is equipped with thirty-four solar panels covering 100 square metres of roof.
A fifth-generation boatman
The 51-year-old captain is no novice: Dario is the fifth generation of boatmen – captains of river and canal boats – in his family. “Before, I used to sail 120 to 180 metre long boats. The Evoli is very small: 27 metres. It’s easy to handle and is specially designed to suit the area around Lyon.”
Still in the early stages of their business, Dario and Turkun Malcuit do not pay themselves a salary at the moment. Although their order book is already full, deliveries have not yet started. Their customers receive financial support from Voies Navigables de France (Waterways of France, VNF). This public body covers the extra costs of river delivery compared with road delivery in order to encourage companies to call on Ecofluv and facilitate its growth.
Transporting more than what trucks deliver
Historically, heavy and bulky deliveries have been transported by river. “But what’s new in the last five or six years is that urban logistics managers are now also using the water to transport cardboard boxes, shoes and very light items such as food”, explains Céline Ohresser, deputy manager of development for VNF’s territorial directorate.
Evoli will transport the city’s green waste as well as building materials and debris, but it will also be able to deliver items for private individuals, including cars weighing up to several tonnes. The Evoli will serve thirty-five delivery docks located between Vienne and Villefranche-sur-Saône.
“The Evoli also recovers sludge, meaning wastewater and waste from cooking or from on-board lavatories,” explains Turkun Malcuit, the company’s director. Normally, tanker-trucks take care of this task. By taking over this task, the Evoli will replace up to 12,000 trucks a year.
The name of this multi-purpose boat could not be more apt: Evoli refers to the evolution of urban logistics, and is also “a contraction of the names Evy and Olivia, our daughters,” explains the director, smiling. The project is like a new child, the dream of which finally came true four years after the plans were first drawn up “one Christmas evening”.
More reliable over short distances
At Confluence, traffic is heavy. The boat outpaces cars and trucks, which are at a virtual standstill at the junction of the A7 and the Pasteur bridge. An ambulance in the distance tries to get through, with sirens accompanying its tricky crossing.
Evoli is travelling at a speed of 20 kilometres per hour. On the rivers, it only takes a few minutes to reach the loading docks, making it ideal for delivering goods over short distances. “We know that river transport is slower. But because there’s no risk of accidents, and we can anticipate river congestion, we arrive on time. So delivery by boat is is more reliable”, says Pierre-Yves Péguy, director of the Transport, Urban Planning and Economics Laboratory at the Lumière-Lyon-II University.
Fewer transport contingencies also mean more customer satisfaction, according to Emilie Carpels, river project manager at Ikea France. In Paris, for the past year and a half, the furniture giant has been using a Sogestran boat to deliver its products to DIY enthusiasts. “Thanks to the Seine, we know that all our orders will be in Paris city centre by the early hours of the morning, ready for delivery. By 2023, this system had avoided 8,000 trucks entering the capital.”
Decarbonised last-mile delivery
Coupled with low-carbon last-mile deliveries, generally carried out by cargo bike or electric truck from the unloading area to the recipient, river transport produces five times less CO2 per tonne transported per kilometre than road transport.
This system also improves air quality in the Lyon area, which is often plagued by peaks in fine-particle pollution. “The aim is to reduce congestion and pollution,” explains Pierre Athanaze, Vice-President of the Metropolis of Lyon and delegate for the Environment and Rivers (development and use).
While Lyon‘s docks are not always suitable for deliveries, the governing green majority is making a promise: “Our responsibility,” declares Athanaze, “is to develop space for logistics on delivery docks. We have begun this work and we will continue to do so gradually”.
Following in the footsteps of Paris, Strasbourg and Lyon, other cities are now looking into developing their own river transport systems, including Toulouse, Mulhouse, Reims and Avignon. “This doesn’t mean that all goods in the future will be delivered by boat”, explains researcher Pierre-Yves Péguy. “You still need rivers that are navigable and sufficiently wide, and you need the infrastructure for delivery, loading and storage, long delivery times, and costs that include general cargo handling”.
River delivery will never be able to completely replace trucks in city centres: “We see Evoli as a logistics chain. We’re all colleagues. The more urban logistics boats there are, the better it will be for the environment and for the city”, says Turkun Malcuit. It’s no accident that the boat is moored alongside BFT Transports, a truck-based logistics company and future partner of Ecofluv.
This article was produced as part of The Newsroom 27 competition, organised by Slate.fr with the financial support of the European Union. The article reflects the views of the author and the European Commission cannot be held responsible for its content or use.
