The challenging tides, rough weather and dense ship traffic of the North Sea will be the first chapter within the Global Offshore Sailing Team‘s Expedition Blue Ocean. In 2022, GOST will undertake various missions to all Seven Seas to learn about and promote the most exciting #CLEAN ENERGY & #CLEAN SEAS projects and the driving forces behind them.
Inspired by the great Prince of the Sea Albert I and his strong commitment to international understanding, the environment and our oceans, we will carry out various missions with our supporters around the globe to promote international understanding and environmental awareness around #cleanseas and #cleanenergy
I’m proud commanding the 1st Mission with an outstanding experienced team:
NORTH SEA ENDURANCE 600+nm Offshore (Expedition Blue Ocean) Departure Zeebrugge, Belgium – 14 May 22: Into the Night – 271 nm Offshore to Wilhelmshaven/Bremerhaven – Meet the drivers of the #CLEAN SEAS initiatives of the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Beach Cleaner and many more. Sail from Wilhelmshaven North-West to the major offshore wind farms. Meet Northern Helicopters and others who keep these breathtaking #CLEAN ENERGY projects running in such challenging conditions.
Other missions to come: GOST-Senior Officer Wolfgang Händel will command parallel to NORTH SEA ENDURANCE, the MEDITERRANEAN ENDURANCE MISSION in the Thyrenian Sea. With the great support of the Asociación para la Investigación y Difusión de la Historia Naval de Cuba projects with the Yacht Club de Havana (CARRIBEAN ENDURANCE) are in planning. Same with the Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club (ATLANTIC ENDURANCE), our Californian team mates (PACIFIC ENDURANCE) and many more.
Please find updates at www.ExpeditionBlueOcean.com
Chief Development & Chief Visionary Officer Jochen Werne on the subject of sustainability
This year, the Bavarian State Medal was awarded to Jochen Werne by State Minister Thorsten Glauber for his personal commitment and services to the environment.
Prosegur congratulated him on this honourable recognition and asked him how this passion flows into his daily work at Prosegur.
The world’s first armoured electric money transporter is now in use at the security service provider Prosegur. Since the armouring was realised in lightweight construction, the electrically powered MAN eTGE has enough payload and range for city traffic. On tour with the environmentally friendly cash messengers in Potsdam.
For safety reasons, Prosegur’s cash messengers always travel in pairs or sometimes even in threes – a well-rehearsed team. Today Uwe E. is driving the yellow money carrier through Potsdam. His colleague Andreas H. watches the surroundings from the passenger seat. He mainly looks for hedges, backyards and other possible hiding places. Because “the others” could be lurking there in ambush. That’s what H. calls criminals who are after money and valuables transported in the vehicle, doubly protected by the armoured outer skin and the armoured inner cabin. The course of each tour, each of which covers several banks, ATMs or shops, is planned in detail to minimise the risk of robbery. At Prosegur’s Potsdam branch, a security guard watches on a monitor as the GPS signal of the MAN eTGE moves through the city and keeps in touch with the two cash messengers by radio. Driver and co-driver are highly concentrated while the electrically driven van glides almost silently through the streets. “This silence while driving is great,” says money messenger Andreas H. with satisfaction. “Without noise, I can focus even better and am less exhausted at the end of the working day.”
However, the advantage of the noiseless drive is not the main reason why Prosegur uses the world’s first armoured electric money carrier. The company wants to prove to itself and the entire security industry that electric mobility is not only suitable for normal delivery traffic, but also for the special requirements of cash-in-transit. Despite the additional weight of the armour, which reduces the payload of the vehicle and the already limited range of the electric battery.
Lightweight construction for armouring Since Prosegur has already had good experience with the conventional MAN TGE panel vans in its fleet, its battery-electric variant, a MAN TGE 3.140 E, was chosen as the test vehicle. The STOOF company provided it with armouring and dispensed with steel in order to save weight. Instead, aramid was used, a lightweight high-performance fabric that is also used by the military for armoured vehicles and protective clothing. In this way, it was possible to realise the cash transporter with a tare weight of 3,150 kilograms, including the armour. “Its battery charge allows for about 120 to 130 kilometres of range. That is absolutely sufficient for our tours in the urban area” tells Alexander Lange, who manages Prosegur’s fleet. “Our electric money transporter travels 70 to 90 kilometres per day. There is still enough range left over as a safety reserve.”
Prosegur has been using the MAN eTGE since September 2020. It has since been integrated into normal operations. The test phase has been successfully completed. The proof is in: environmentally friendly transport of valuables without local emissions is feasible. The electric version has proven itself very well. “As a company with a large fleet of vehicles, we want to make an important contribution to climate protection, so there is no way around electric cash-in-transit vehicles,” announces Jochen Werne. The Chief Development Officer of Prosegur in Germany estimates: “A large part of our tours – especially in urban areas – can be realised with battery-electric vehicles.” For supra-regional shuttle transports, according to the current state of the art, another drive solution with a higher range is still required.
At Prosegur, the changeover to electric mobility will take place in carefully coordinated steps. Jochen Werne emphasises that in addition to the purchase costs of the vehicles – the fleet comprises 900 cash-in-transit vehicles and 300 service vehicles – additional costs must be calculated for setting up the charging infrastructure. Until now, the MAN eTGE has been charged overnight at a simple 230-volt socket. After around eight hours, the battery is full again. “In order to fully exploit the advantages of electric mobility, high-performance charging stations are of course indispensable,” Werne explains. Despite the necessary investments, the head of development at Prosegur also sees a great economic opportunity in electromobility: “In a long-term total cost consideration, this technology can even save money.”
A sign for climate protection In Potsdam, Prosegur is setting a clearly visible example for climate protection with the MAN eTGE.
In contrast, the money messengers Uwe E. and Andreas H. want to attract as little attention as possible to their risky job. For each customer, they park as close as possible to the entrance. Uwe E. quickly slips into the shelter of the building and soon after back into the vehicle. For the short distance, he carries the valuable cargo in a special transport security device. After completing their rounds, the money messengers drive their “e-tank” through a security gate back to Prosegur’s premises. Safe and clean.
It was a great day to experience live with MAN and my Prosegur colleagues how the world’s first all-electric CIT van performs. Many thanks to MAN for producing an excellent report on this great achievement, which takes our company another step closer to achieving the climate targets we set ourselves by signing the Climate Pledge.
