Esseco Industrial brings electric transport to the industrial chemical sector in Italy

Electric traction is making its way into industrial transport within the chemical sector. At MAN Truck & Bus headquarters in Verona, the first e-mobility logistics initiative for raw materials and chemical production was officially unveiled. Leading the way is Esseco Industrial—the industrial division of Esseco Group—offering products and services for both organic and inorganic chemical industries, with particular expertise in sulfur derivatives and chlor-alkali.

This is the first real-world example in Italy of electric transport being applied to this type of product. The project will involve Esseco’s facilities in San Martino di Trecate (NO), Altair Chemical in Pieve Vergonte (VB), and the Saline di Volterra site in Tuscany. A thorough technical and economic assessment enabled the identification of routes compatible with electric transport, which are now being integrated into Esseco Industrial’s broader intermodal logistics strategy.

“Bringing electric transport to the chemical industry—traditionally considered a ‘hard-to-abate’ sector—isn’t just a technical challenge. It’s a true paradigm shift,” said Eng. Roberto Vagheggi, General Manager of Esseco Industrial. “We’ve long been committed to environmental sustainability, and we’ve made significant investments that now allow us to operate with 65% CO2-free energy, more than 50% of which comes from renewable sources including hydroelectric, photovoltaic, and process steam. Our long-standing, trusted logistics partners—who embraced our challenge to decarbonize freight transport—will benefit from charging stations we plan to install at our plants, ensuring not only environmental but also economic sustainability for this important transition”.

Transport services will be handled by Germani Trasporti and Autotrasporti Burchianti using MAN e-trucks. In Tuscany, routes will connect the Saline di Volterra site to the ports of Livorno and Piombino. In Piedmont, electric transport will be used for intercompany logistics between Pieve Vergonte and San Martino di Trecate, as well as to intermodal hubs in Busto Arsizio (VA) and Segrate (MI) in Lombardy, and to clients and suppliers within an 80 km radius of the industrial facilities.

“The next step,” Vagheggi concludes, “is to expand our e-mobility project with new routes to further reduce emissions across our logistics operations. According to the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), electric road transport powered by green energy can cut emissions by up to 92% compared to diesel”.