Strengthen regional sustainability: Mercer Holz presents innovative electric trucks for environmentally friendly timber transport

Rosenthal am Rennsteig, May 24, 2025 – Mercer Holz GmbH is setting a strong example for sustainability and innovation in the transport sector: Mercer Holz presented its two new, fully electric e-trucks for the first time at the Open Day event at its sister plant Mercer Rosenthal. In the near future, Mercer Rosenthal will take over part of the wood chip transport between the Mercer Timber Products sawmill in Friesau and the Mercer Rosenthal pulp mill.

The E-truck and Infrastructure project is being funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport with a total of 1.03 million euros as part of the directive on the promotion of light and heavy commercial vehicles with alternative, climate-friendly drive systems and associated refuelling and charging infrastructure. Funding for this measure is also provided as part of the German Recovery and Resilience Plan via the European Recovery and Resilience Facilities in the NextGenerationEU Programme. The funding guideline is coordinated by NOW GmbH and applications are approved by the Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility.

“We are delighted with the positive response to the presentation of the innovative e-trucks. The Open Day showed that there is a great deal of interest in new technologies,” says Martin Stöhr, Managing Director of Mercer Holz. ‘The e-trucks are an important step towards a more sustainable future and show that economic efficiency and environmental protection can go hand-in-hand.’ 

In addition to Martin Stöhr, the Managing Director of the pulp mill, Dr. Christian Sörgel, and Mill Manager, Tobias Albert, were particularly pleased with the numerous visitors from near and far. Christian Hirte, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Transport, also accepted the invitation to Rosenthal. He was impressed by the technological advances and the opportunities that arise from the use of electric lorries. Both Martin Stöhr and Christian Hirte were able to experience the driving behaviour of an e-truck for themselves.

Christian Hirte, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Transport: “Mercer Holz has set out as a pioneer to drive forward the conversion of its fleet to zero-emission drives. Every zero-emission lorry that hits the road will help Germany to achieve climate neutrality by 2045. As the German government, we will support the transport sector as closely as possible in this endeavour.”

Another important step towards electro-mobility is for Mercer Holz to officially install its new charging stations with up to 300 kilowatts of power at the Mercer Timber Products mill in Friesau. These charging stations are also subsidised by the climate-friendly commercial vehicles and associated refuelling and charging infrastructure directive. This investment in electro-mobility promotes the efficient use of vehicles and emphasises Mercer’s long-term focus on sustainable technologies. “The final construction work is currently underway and we expect the charging points to be commissioned in June,” said Dominik Endres, Project Manager for the construction of the charging infrastructure at Mercer Holz. Mercer is thus reaffirming its commitment to sustainability and innovation. The integration of e-trucks into the logistics processes and the expansion of the charging infrastructure are key components of the company’s strategy to contribute to environmental protection while increasing efficiency and competitiveness.