DHL and DRONAMICS have entered into an agreement and discussing mutual exclusivity for middle-mile drone deliveries. The partnership aims to combine DRONAMICS middle-mile cargo drones with DHL’s first and last-mile services to jointly develop solutions.
Using DRONAMICS’ drone delivery network and its prototype Black Swan drones, DHL aims to offer same-day cargo drone deliveries in selected industries and markets. As part of the agreement, DRONAMICS will provide equipment and expertise to operate the unmanned drone flights, employing staff in handling and technical roles. The first commercial flights of the same-day drone cargo services are expected to begin in 2022.
“Innovation is a key part of DHL’s DNA. We are constantly exploring new technologies to bring value to our customers, and we believe that cargo drones will be an element in the next generation of transportation in logistics. DRONAMICS is a pioneer and leader in the field of cargo drones and our collaboration will help to open up opportunities for urgent, sensitive and time-critical deliveries. We are excited to pilot the use of the Black Swan in customer operations in the near future,” said Matthias Heutger, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Innovation and Commercial Development at DHL.
“We are incredibly excited that DRONAMICS has been selected by DHL, the world’s largest logistics provider as their first middle-mile drone partner, with a partnership that provides mutual exclusivity in selected industries and markets. This partnership has the potential to generate €1.86 Bn to DRONAMICS’ revenues annually, with plans underway to build and operate over 4,000 cargo drones to support the partnership in the coming years,” said Svilen Rangelov, Co-founder and CEO of DRONAMICS.
Additionally, DRONAMICS’ goal to become carbon-neutral by 2027 and direction to operate on sustainable biofuels in the future will play a part in helping DHL achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
