The Underestimated Climate Problem in the Warehouse

We spoke about this with Timo Landener, Innovation Manager (+Sustainability) at Körber and host of the podcast Das Gleiche in Grün. He explains why energy efficiency is becoming the key issue of the operational phase, where the industry still has blind spots and why sustainability in intralogistics must now also be considered economically.

You can find this article and many other insights on automated small parts warehouses here in our second even Report, our practical guide to automated small parts warehouse systems.

Sustainability still plays a very small role

Timo, you have been working at the intersection of automation and sustainability for many years. How prominent is the topic in intralogistics right now?

Timo Landener: Still far too little. On the manufacturer side there is some awareness, mostly in connection with energy consumption, but the topic is far from established. On the customer side, sustainability plays practically no role. Decisions are made according to classic metrics such as throughput, costs and amortization. Sustainability – including energy consumption – appears, if at all, as a marginal note.

It was only the Ukraine war and the energy crisis of 2022 that changed this. Suddenly energy consumption became a real cost factor. Vendors had to provide metrics that no one had been interested in before. Today, energy efficiency is the only sustainability aspect that is regularly questioned. But even that still ranks far behind price and performance.

Energy is the future topic. Period.

You say energy will remain the defining topic. What exactly do you mean by that?

Timo Landener: Energy is the current future topic, keyword energy transition. This applies not only to intralogistics, but to the entire economy. The essential question is that of the energy source, i.e. the transformation from a fossil system to a system that (primarily) uses renewable energies in connection with long-term energy storage.

During a certain transformation phase, however, energy efficiency remains crucial. Many companies are working with an energy mix during this transformation. That's why it matters how efficiently systems achieve the same output with less electricity. Whether through software that avoids empty runs, or through energy management that controls orders in such a way that peak loads are smoothed out: every kilowatt-hour saved reduces costs.

And the topic will continue to gain importance. AI, cloud, automation – all of this requires energy. Those who use it efficiently will have the edge in the long term.

DC Microgrids: Efficiency through direct current

New energy concepts such as DC microgrids (direct current microgrids) could help significantly reduce energy losses in warehouses in the future. Instead of converting alternating current (AC) multiple times as before, DC grids allow consumers, storage systems and PV systems to be directly coupled. This reduces conversion losses by 5–15%, braking energy can be fed back more easily and electricity can be used more efficiently.

According to the BMWK project "DC-INDUSTRIE2", there are additional advantages:

• up to 50% less energy consumption for braking and lifting systems,
• up to 50% less copper required in cables,
• lower grid peaks and more stable supply,
• easy integration of renewable sources such as photovoltaics.

DC microgrids are thus considered an important building block for future, energy-efficient warehouse systems.

Racking is the biggest CO₂ burden

You said the biggest CO₂ burden is not in the system itself, but in the racking.

Timo Landener: Exactly. In manufacturing, the largest share of CO₂ comes from steel. Racking is almost always made of steel, and it has an enormously high footprint. In my estimation, about 80 percent of the emissions in manufacturing are actually in racking construction – in the steel, not in the shuttle or crane. Of course, it should be added that the number of cranes, but especially shuttles, in an overall system is also crucial.

This becomes even clearer when you include the building: concrete, steel, aluminum. These are the real greenhouse gas emitters, which is understandable, because we're talking about heavy industry (hard-to-abate).

In the operational phase, the picture shifts. Over 30 or 40 years of operation, energy consumption becomes the dominant factor. And it depends on how quickly the share of renewable energy grows. If a warehouse is operated in the future with, for example, its own PV electricity and storage systems, the balance can drop almost to zero. But until then, energy consumption remains the central issue.

Today operation counts, in the future manufacturing

Does that mean currently the operational phase is crucial, but in the future more the production phase?

Timo Landener: Exactly. Today, energy consumption over the lifetime predominates, but with a growing share of renewable energies, the relationship will reverse. Then the manufacturing phase will become more relevant, i.e. the question of what materials are used for construction. Steel, concrete, aluminum: these are the construction sites in the long term.

Recycled steel or wood – there are alternatives

If we're talking about materials: what options do companies have today to build more sustainably?

Timo Landener: Steel and aluminum are standard in the industry. They are robust, familiar, calculable. Those who use them take no risk, but also no step forward. There have long been alternatives. Recycled steel is a partially established example. Steel is energy-intensive to produce, but can be used for decades and reused through recycling.

Wood is interesting because it stores CO₂, is biodegradable at end of life and has a completely different climate balance. Of course, there are reservations – fire protection, structural integrity – but these are solvable issues. The key thing is: something is moving.

What surprises me: on the customer side, this is hardly discussed. The discussions that once took place have died down again. Instead of thinking long-term, short-term costs count again. Yet the regulatory CO₂ price is already foreseeable. When it rises, and it will, the economics will shift. Recycled or green steel will then pay off when the CO₂ price becomes a calculable factor and not a toothless tiger.

Circular Economy is hard-core economics

You often speak of circular economy. What does that mean specifically for intralogistics?

Timo Landener: Circular Economy is hard-core economics. We live on a planet with finite resources. When they become scarce, prices rise. Companies must prepare for materials to remain in circulation – ultimately for cost reasons.

Recycling is only the last stage. Because