Behrens-Gruppe electrifies heavy-duty fleet with charging management from IO-Dynamics and FIRMENLADEN

The Behrens-Gruppe is making steady progress in electrifying its truck fleet. Across four sites, the company currently operates twelve fully electric MAN eTGX trucks, making it one of the few timber wholesalers in Germany already handling heavy transport logistics electrically. This doesn't happen by chance. It takes the right infrastructure, the right software and partners who are committed to the journey. That is exactly what the joint project between IO-Dynamics, FIRMENLADEN and the Behrens Group demonstrates.

Pioneering electric heavy-duty transport

For many companies, the move into electric heavy-duty operations is still a distant prospect. Behrens-Gruppe has already made it a reality and built that transition on solid technical and strategic foundations from day one. Working with partners including MAN and the Fraunhofer Institute, new concepts were tested early on to assess the economic viability and practical suitability of electric trucks under real-world conditions. Those insights feed directly into day-to-day operations today. FIRMENLADEN has installed ten Alpitronic Hypercharger HYC400 units and manages their ongoing on-site operation, ensuring reliable energy supply for the vehicles at all times.

"Heavy electric fleets place entirely different demands on charging infrastructure than passenger cars or light commercial vehicles. What we have built together with the Behrens Group is no longer a pilot project. Combined with intelligent control from IO-Dynamics, it becomes a system that genuinely works in everyday use. We are proud to be taking this journey together," says Johann Kaemmer, CCO of FIRMENLADEN.

Smart charging management as the key to efficient electric truck fleets

elephi, the software from IO-Dynamics, provides intelligent management of the entire charging operation. elephi does not just react; it plans ahead. The software knows which vehicle needs to depart and when, when it was last charged, how much energy remains in the battery, and how much grid capacity is currently available. Across all sites, elephi works with vehicle booking data: a truck not leaving until the next day is charged gradually to protect the battery; one departing early gets priority. Load peaks are actively prevented before they occur.

At the Rothenburg site, a 400 kWp photovoltaic system is also integrated into the charging plan. Locally generated solar power flows directly and preferentially into the charging operation, noticeably reducing energy costs. At the Großenhain site, the grid operator placed specific requirements on reactive power control of the charging infrastructure. To meet these, the IO-Dynamics team configured a Phoenix Contact controller and integrated it directly into the overall system, showing how individual technical requirements can be resolved in live operations without disrupting the broader setup. The result is not a rigid system but one that grows with the fleet.

"It was crucial for us that the charging operation not only works but can scale with our growth," says Julian Loh, Project Management at Behrens-Gruppe. "We need full transparency across all sites and the confidence that our vehicles are reliably charged and ready to go. With elephi's centralised control, we have achieved exactly that level of planning reliability."

A scalable charging solution as the foundation for further fleet electrification 

Scalability was one of the core requirements from the outset. New sites, additional vehicles, further charge points: elephi scales alongside the fleet without requiring the control logic to be rebuilt from scratch. This makes the solution not only relevant for day-to-day operations today but a foundation for everything that comes next.

"Electrifying heavy commercial vehicles always comes down to the interplay of vehicle, infrastructure, and energy," explains Johann Olsen, Managing Director of IO-Dynamics. "Only when these three components are intelligently connected does a system emerge that truly holds up in everyday use. The project with Behrens-Gruppe and FIRMENLADEN demonstrates that electric heavy-duty operations are no longer the exception today. They work, and they scale."

With every additional kilometre, the Behrens Group demonstrates that economic efficiency and decarbonisation in logistics are not in conflict. With the right charging infrastructure and software, the two go hand in hand.