NEWS
ECCOV and Smart Green Logistics project in Gyeongsangbuk-do
관리자 / 2023-02-27
Gyeongsangbuk-do has started full-fledged nurturing of the smart green logistics industry, which aimed to achieve carbon neutrality in the logistics sector.
Gimcheon City, Gyeongsangbuk-do, was designated as a “Smart Green Logistics Regulation Free Zone” by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in 2021. Gyeongbuk Techno Park (Gyeongbuk TP) is running this special zone.
Gyeongbuk Smart Green Logistics Regulatory Free Zone was built in the old downtown area of Gimcheon and Gimcheon Innovation City by investing 28 billion won in total project cost from August 2021 to July 2025. According to the Gyeongbuk TP on January 31st, 2023, 12 companies, including logistics companies such as Coupang and Mesh Korea, and cargo bike companies such as ECCOV, Esamsa, and Motovelo, are currently participating in the Gimcheon Special Logistics Regulation Free Zone.
Smart Green Logistics is a business project that provides an eco-friendly short-distance delivery service by building a smart living logistics base that doubles as a parking lot in the downtown area. The 1-ton diesel truck used for logistics delivery within 4km of the city center will be replaced with a three wheele electric bicycle which is called a 'cargo bike'. Gyeongsangbuk-do explained, “If a diesel 1t truck is replaced with 8 eco-friendly electric bicycles, 1,166 pine trees are planted annually.”
It is also expected to grow together between services and manufacturing, such as startups in charge of logistics services and eco-friendly delivery means components companies. The goal of Gyeongsangbuk-do is to create a new market and pioneer exports by reorganizing the system related to the electric bicycle industry for logistics, which had not been activated due to the lack of safety standards.
Gyeongbuk TP is actively promoting the cargo bike industry in preparation for an eco-friendly logistics paradigm shift. Based on this project, Gyeongbuk TP is intensively supporting the task of creating a Korean-style KC (National Integrated Certification Mark) certification for cargo bikes.
Cargo bikes already have national standards in Europe such as Germany, but there is no national standard yet in Korea. For this reason, Gyeongbuk TP plans to focus on creating a Korean-style national standard through various equipment tests for driving tests, cargo loading, and safety this year (2023).
The technology of domestic companies is also excellent. A typical example is ECCOV. ECCOV is attracting attention early on by exhibiting the world's first cargo electric bicycle to which automobile manufacturing technology is applied. The company attended the ‘International Cargo Bike Fair (ICBF)’ held in the Netherlands last year and won sample orders from overseas countries.
The reason why cargo bikes are attracting attention is that the three factors of eco-friendly conversion of the logistics industry, expansion of urban logistics, and high technological barriers are in sync. Due to the nature of residence in Korea, as there are many apartments and villas, even 1-ton trucks can only travel at 10 km/h in densely populated areas. In addition, as the number of logistics deliveries such as various household products increases, the importance of mobility convenience is also growing.
Reference:
(1) https://www.hankyung.com/society/article/2021062444901
(2) https://www.mk.co.kr/news/society/10625943