ROTTERDAM—Demonstrating that a formerly small startup powered by mighty business innovators can make transformative impacts, innocent drinks now operates four (and at times five!) 50T electric trucks that haul juice products to innocent’s “Blender” factory.

The juice and smoothie company started its drive to zero journey in 2019 with a vision for a carbon-neutral factory and zero-emission supply chain. After much planning and with the support of e-truck transport company BREYTNER, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water, Brazilian juice company Cutrale, powertrain innovator EMOSS, and the Port of Rotterdam, 99 percent of orange juice runs between the port and innocent’s Blender factor are now zero-emissions. The trucks make three 90km round trips daily. Daily, innocent drinks demonstrates that zero-emission trucks are not only advanced, they are affordable, available, and adoptable.

“The world’s bigger than just our little drinks factory. We want to be better for people, the planet, and business across the whole supply chain. That’s why we teamed up with brilliant partners like BREYTNER, EMOSS, and Cutrale to swap diesel for electric and deliver our juice with zero emissions. These trucks don’t slurp diesel, they quietly charge while unloading orange juice at our Blender. It’s a double win: better for the planet and better for our business,” said Ada Simonaityte, Senior Logistics Buyer at innocent drinks.

“To make a success of this new zero-emission supply chain it is imperative that parties work together with commitment and an innovative view. We consider this project a partnership and share knowledge with all parties involved and even beyond, in order to make a positive impact and inspire other companies to follow innocent’s lead,” said Marie-José Baartmans, Managing Director of BREYTNER.

Want to know more about this zero-emission transformation? Check out this Charging Up Change case study.

Next up, according to BREYTNER, the juice and smoothie company will expand its e-fleet with new Mercedes Benz E600 trucks to ship ingredients to the factory. Those additional trucks will start running in the beginning of September 2025.

Key solutions to making this zero-emission juice hauling dream a reality include:

• Eliminating unneeded components from the truck and using light-weight materials
• Right-sizing batteries to maximize payload
• Optimizing loading bays by making them self-service
• Fast-charging trucks during the 30-minute unloading period
• Cutting transport distances by housing the Blender Factory in the Port of Rotterdam
• Working with innovative and creative partners!

Location is also playing a critical role in the success of innocent drinks’ high-tech fleet. The Netherlands—recognized as a global leader in zero-emission freight—sends local businesses clear market signals through ambitious policies, incentives, and dense charging infrastructure:

• The Netherlands is currently a signatory and formerly country co-lead of the Global Memorandum of Understanding on Zero-Emission Medium-and Heavy-Duty Vehicles(Global MOU), which calls for 100% new zero-emission truck sales by 2040 and at least 30% new zero-emission truck and bus sales by 2030. Currently there are 40 national signatories and more than 250 subnational government and private sector innovators in the Global MOU community.
• The Dutch government offers multiple incentives to accelerate the transition to zero-emission trucks through a purchasing subsidy for zero-emission trucks, a subsidy for hydrogen in mobility (both for purchase subsidies and refuelling infrastructure), a subsidy for private charging infrastructure, and a subsidy for public charging infrastructure. Part of these subsidies is financed through future net proceeds from a truck toll that is expected mid 2026 (with an 80% discount for ZE-trucks). Electric vehicle exemptions from registration fees and road taxes improve the business case for zero-emission trucks and buses.
• Zero-Emission Zones in Dutch cities encourage ambitious fleet turnover.
• The Netherlands has a high density of public charging points and initiatives to expand the network.

As a result of this critical policy, incentive, and infrastructure work, the Netherlands was the major driving force behind a big jump in EV truck purchases in the European Union in Q1 of 2025. According to the ACEA, EV truck registrations grew by 50.6% in Europe during that time with the Netherlands leading this expansion with a 342.7% growth.

A growing number of businesses around the world now recognize the “quadruple A” proposition of zero-emission trucks and buses: They are Advanced, Affordable, Available and Adopted:

• Advanced: ZE-MDHVs on the market are state-of-the-art. They are designed to reduce pollution, fuel costs, and vulnerability to global shocks such as extreme weather events, energy price spikes, and major power outages. They are operationally superior to diesel trucks and buses offering a smoother and quieter ride as well as advanced safety features, and lower fuel and maintenance costs.
• Affordable: By 2030-2035, the vast majority of ZE-MHDVs will be cheaper to own and operate than traditional MDHV models.
• Available: Today, there are nearly 960 ZE-MHDV models on the market globally, a nearly 50% increase from 2021 when 570 models were available (958 models are now available globally). In the Netherlands, model availability of zero-emission medium-and heavy-duty vehicles rose from 51 models in 2021 to 92 models in 2025. To see how other countries are growing their zero-emission model availability, explore Drive to Zero’s Zero-Emission Technology Inventory (ZETI)Data Explorer.
• Adopted: In 2024, more than 250,000 ZE-MHDVs were sold around the world, with China responsible for the lion’s share (230,000+) followed by the U.S. (22,000+ ZETs).

Charging Up Change features the stories of the people and companies that are changing global transportation for good. The series is brought to you by CALSTART’s Drive to Zero program. Drive to Zero, in partnership with the government of Colombia, co-leads an ambitious community of 40 countries and more than 250 private sector and subnational endorsers (to date) that support reaching 100% new zero-emission truck and bus sales by the year 2040. Companies and subnational governments looking to accelerate innovation, grow jobs as well as economic and energy security are invited to endorse the Global MOU today!

Read more about the real people and companies who are “Charging Up Change” here.