DHL Targets €3 Billion New Energy Logistics Revenue by 2030 with Wind and EV Battery Services

DHL is investing in services targeting the new energy logistics market with the goal of growing revenues from this sector from €600 million in 2025 to €3 billion by 2030, launching a new Time Definite Plus service for the wind turbine market and expanding its electric vehicle battery logistics infrastructure across Europe and globally. The Time Definite Plus service will utilise DHL's express network to offer timed shipment delivery, special delivery requirements, swap and return solutions and delivery at challenging locations across 22 countries and territories in Europe with plans for further global rollout. DHL Group Chief Executive Tobias Meyer said the energy transition is happening through a set of different assets that help countries shift and that DHL has the capabilities to help establish these new supply chains end-to-end from parts and components to aftermarket support at a global scale.

 

The Time Definite Plus Service for Wind Turbine Logistics

 

The new Time Definite Plus service addresses a specific operational challenge for the wind energy industry, where turbine components are large, technically complex and often required urgently at remote locations to minimise the downtime cost of non-generating assets. DHL already operates more than 1,100 front-stocking locations that can deliver spare parts within a four-hour window to 88 percent of wind farms globally, providing an established logistics network that the Time Definite Plus service will complement with enhanced express delivery capabilities, customised delivery options and swap and return solutions for maintenance requirements. Martyn Lawns, Chief Executive of DHL Industrial Projects and Senior Vice President for New Energy Growth at DHL Group, said that with many wind farms located in remote places customers require spare parts to be delivered quickly and efficiently, which is why the bespoke service uses the DHL Express network with added customised delivery options.

The service offers different service levels based on maintenance needs, from express delivery of critical large components where turbine downtime costs justify premium logistics spending to standard delivery of lower-cost smaller items where economy of delivery is more appropriate. This tiered service architecture allows wind farm operators and maintenance contractors to match logistics cost to component criticality, optimising total maintenance expenditure rather than applying a single premium service level across all spare part categories. The service will complement DHL's existing regional and local warehouses and transport support for turbine maintenance, creating an integrated logistics ecosystem that spans warehousing, scheduled transport and emergency express delivery within a single provider relationship.

 

Read more: DHL Group to Invest €160 Million in France in 2026-2027 to Expand Logistics Infrastructure and Accelerate Decarbonisation

 

EV Battery Logistics Infrastructure Expansion

 

DHL recently broke ground on a new 17,000 square metre European Battery Logistics Hub in Holtum, the Netherlands, opened an EV and Battery Centre of Excellence in Meung-sur-Loire, France, and is expanding its footprint with additional French locations. The company now operates more than 20 EV Centres of Excellence worldwide, with launches in India and Peru planned for later in 2026, establishing a global specialist logistics network for the electric vehicle battery supply chain that addresses the specific handling, storage, temperature management and safety requirements of lithium-ion battery shipments. DHL will also launch a Thermoliner solution that protects cargo from extreme temperatures and humidity as well as thermal shocks, condensation and cross-contamination, addressing the temperature sensitivity of battery cells and modules that can degrade performance or create safety risks if exposed to adverse conditions during transport and storage.

The expansion of EV battery logistics infrastructure reflects the rapid growth of electric vehicle manufacturing and the emergence of a substantial secondary market for battery servicing, replacement and second-life applications that requires specialist logistics capabilities distinct from conventional automotive parts logistics. Battery cells and modules require specialised handling procedures, dedicated storage facilities with fire suppression systems, temperature-controlled transport and compliance with hazardous materials regulations across multiple jurisdictions, creating a technical logistics capability that generalist logistics providers cannot easily replicate and that represents a durable competitive moat for DHL as EV battery volumes continue to grow.

 

The Energy Security Dimension of New Energy Logistics

 

DHL frames its new energy logistics investment explicitly within the context of energy security, noting that approximately three-quarters of the global population lives in countries dependent on imported fossil fuels that are exposed to geopolitical disruptions. The company's investment in logistics capabilities for wind turbine maintenance, solar installation and EV battery supply chains directly supports the energy transition infrastructure that allows countries to reduce this fossil fuel import dependence through domestic clean energy production. Meyer said the International Energy Agency data shows new energy is scaling at a record-breaking pace, outstripping all other power sources, and DHL's strategy is designed to position the company as the primary logistics enabler of this scaling transition.

The commercial rationale for DHL's new energy logistics investment is straightforward: the rapid growth of wind energy, solar and electric vehicles globally is creating substantial and expanding demand for specialist logistics services that conventional freight and express providers have not designed their networks to serve. By investing now in purpose-built wind turbine logistics services, EV battery facilities and specialist temperature control solutions, DHL is establishing the operational expertise, physical infrastructure and customer relationships that will be difficult for competitors to replicate at scale as the new energy logistics market grows toward and beyond the €3 billion revenue target.

 

Explore OneStop ESG Marketplace: Renewable Energy

 

Outlook for New Energy Logistics as a Commercial Category

 

The growth from €600 million to €3 billion in new energy logistics revenues by 2030 represents a fivefold increase that reflects both the underlying expansion of the renewable energy and electric vehicle markets and DHL's strategic intent to capture a growing share of a specialised logistics category where its global express network and infrastructure investment create competitive advantages. Whether DHL can achieve this revenue target will depend on the pace of offshore and onshore wind capacity addition, the rate of EV adoption and battery replacement demand and the company's ability to win and retain contracts with the leading manufacturers, developers and maintenance contractors across these sectors. Sustained execution of the Time Definite Plus wind logistics service and the EV battery logistics network would establish DHL as the reference logistics provider for the global energy transition supply chain.

The convergence of rapidly scaling renewable energy deployment, growing EV battery logistics demand and the energy security imperative driving fossil fuel import reduction creates structurally favourable conditions for specialist new energy logistics services to attract sustained commercial investment and customer demand. DHL's positioning of this market as a distinct strategic growth priority, backed by dedicated infrastructure investment and new service development, signals a conviction that the energy transition logistics opportunity is material enough to justify organisational focus and capital commitment alongside the company's core industrial and consumer logistics businesses.