Wolt is putting its sustainability mission into action by partnering with EIT Urban Mobility and Uny to launch NGSEED, a zero-emission delivery pilot in Warsaw, Prague, and Budapest. The Helsinki-based delivery platform will deploy Uny’s electric fleet, universal swappable batteries, and solar-powered backup stations to cut last-mile delivery emissions by 90% and slash operational costs by half. Supported by EIT Urban Mobility’s innovation funding, Wolt aims to prove that vehicle-agnostic battery swapping can transform urban logistics. The initiative is expected to deliver 72,000 orders and save 25 tons of CO₂ in its first phase, with potential for Europe-wide expansion.
Wolt is a technology company headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, operating a platform that connects customers with restaurants, grocery stores, and retailers for on-demand delivery. Founded in 2014, the company facilitates local commerce by linking buyers, sellers, and couriers through its app and website. Wolt expanded its operations to more than 30 countries and, in 2022, became part of U.S.-based DoorDash. Its services focus on streamlining the ordering and delivery process in urban environments.
“At Wolt, our sustainability mission has always been to make cities better places to live for everyone. While there is rarely a silver bullet when it comes to sustainability solutions, we believe that vehicle-agnostic swappable battery technologies might just be one of them. Through this partnership, we are not only supporting our courier partners to shift, but we’re empowering cities to embrace practical solutions that deliver measurable impacts. We’re honored and proud to partner with both of these organizations to create a strong proof of concept that can be scaled,” says Jamieson Saab, Global Head of Sustainability, Wolt.
Uny, formerly E-Mobility Rentals, is a European provider of electric vehicle solutions for urban logistics and last-mile delivery. The company offers a Fleet-as-a-Service model that includes electric vehicles, a universal swappable battery system, maintenance, and insurance. Uny’s infrastructure incorporates solar-powered backup battery swap stations, enabling minimal downtime for vehicles and supporting a range of transport modes from scooters to cargo vans.
Eduard Anghel, Head of Innovation and Vision at Uny states, “Our partnership with Wolt, validated by winning the EIT Urban Mobility Innovation Call, started from a simple reality: no one – no individual, no company, no state – can solve urban mobility problems alone. When sustainability is at stake, even the biggest competitors can work together. We’re creating infrastructure that benefits businesses, couriers and cities.”
EIT Urban Mobility is an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union. It works to develop and implement solutions for sustainable urban transport by bringing together cities, industry, academia, and research organisations. The organisation funds and supports projects aimed at reducing congestion, improving air quality, and creating user-focused, multimodal mobility systems across Europe.
“With increasing pressure on European cities to reduce transport-related emissions, expanding electric delivery fleets is a practical step toward improving air quality and optimising urban logistics. By prioritising sustainable urban transport, cities across Europe can make tangible progress in reducing pollution. This approach also creates healthier, more efficient environments for residents,” comments Traian Urban, Director EIT Urban Mobility Innovation Hub East.
The model combines a mixed fleet of electric scooters, bicycles, and cargo vans with a universal swappable battery system that can power more than 20 types of vehicles. Batteries can be replaced in under a minute, reducing downtime and improving fleet efficiency. The system will be supported by solar-powered backup charging stations placed across the pilot cities.
According to project targets, NGSEED aims to reduce last-mile delivery emissions by 90% compared with conventional fleets, lower operational costs by 50%, and complete 360,000 kilometres of zero-emission deliveries during the trial period. It is also expected to deliver around 72,000 orders and prevent approximately 25 tonnes of CO₂ from entering the atmosphere.
For Wolt, which operates a local commerce and delivery platform in over 30 countries, the initiative offers a real-world test of whether battery-swapping technology can be scaled to meet the needs of high-volume, urban logistics. Uny, formerly known as E-Mobility Rentals, brings its expertise in electric vehicle fleets, maintenance, and battery-swapping infrastructure. EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), is supporting the project as part of its mandate to advance sustainable, user-centric urban transport solutions.
The pilot is part of a broader push by European cities to cut transport-related emissions and reimagine urban logistics. If NGSEED proves effective, the partners say it could serve as a model for expanding zero-emission delivery networks across the continent.
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Read the orginal article: https://arcticstartup.com/wolt-eit-urban-mobility-and-uny-partner/
