IAA TRANSPORTATION 2026: real routes, real loads and proven electric refrigeration

IAA TRANSPORTATION 2026 brought the transport and logistics industry together in Hannover to discuss electrification, efficiency and digitalisation. For Sunswap, it was an opportunity to show why refrigeration needs to be part of that conversation, and how electric transport refrigeration is already working in real-world fleet operations.

Six days at IAA TRANSPORTATION reinforced something we are seeing increasingly across the cold chain: the conversation around electric refrigeration is moving on.

Fleet operators are no longer simply asking whether electric transport refrigeration can work. They want to understand how it will work for their operation: across their routes, temperatures, charging requirements, costs and day-to-day fleet demands.

That made for some great conversations on the Sunswap stand.

Electrifying transport means electrifying refrigeration

As fleets move towards cleaner, more efficient transport, refrigeration cannot be overlooked.

A conventional refrigerated trailer relies on its own diesel engine to keep the load at temperature. Moving beyond that diesel engine creates an opportunity not only to reduce emissions, but to rethink how refrigeration performs, how it uses energy and how operators manage it.

Sunswap Endurance was engineered electric from the first drawing, combining battery power, integrated solar and connected technology in a purpose-built transport refrigeration system.

At IAA, we were able to show what that approach means in practice.

Electric refrigeration has to make business sense

Decarbonisation is important, but operators also need a strong commercial case.

That was one of the central themes of our conversations in Hannover.

Fleets already using Endurance are demonstrating what the economics can look like. DFDS has achieved a 71% reduction in operating costs, Staples Vegetables is achieving 78%, and Noble Foods’ Happy Egg fleet is projecting £1.16 million in operational savings across its 40 units.

The opportunity is about more than replacing diesel with electricity. High-efficiency electric technology, fewer moving parts and energy generated by onboard solar can all contribute to a different operating cost model.

For fleets looking at electrification, commercial performance matters just as much as environmental performance.

Better refrigeration starts with better engineering

Endurance was not created by adapting a conventional diesel refrigeration system.

Sunswap was founded by engineers from aerospace, motorsport and thermal systems with the ambition to rethink transport refrigeration from the ground up.

The result is a system designed around the requirements of modern cold-chain operations: frozen, chilled and multi-temperature capability, intelligent monitoring and diagnostics, lower maintenance requirements and integrated solar helping generate energy while the trailer is operating or standing.

It is about using electrification to make refrigeration cleaner, quieter and smarter, without compromising the job it has to do.

Real routes. Real loads. Proven performance.

In the first six months of 2026, Endurance units covered more than 6.3 million kilometres across customer fleets, operating across different routes, temperatures and climates.

That real-world experience includes a 1,671 km Sydney to Brisbane return journey carrying frozen and chilled products simultaneously, extended frozen operation at -20°C on demanding French routes, and chilled operations where solar has demonstrated just how much of the refrigeration energy requirement can be generated from the trailer roof.

Different fleets have different requirements, but the expectation is always the same: reliable refrigeration performance.

That is why our conversations with operators start with their operation.

What routes are you running? What temperatures do you need to maintain? Where are the most demanding points in the duty cycle? What charging opportunities already exist? What contribution could solar make?

From there, we can model what Endurance could look like within that fleet.

Thank you, IAA TRANSPORTATION

Thank you to everyone who came to see the Sunswap team in Hannover, talked us through their operations and challenged us with their routes.

IAA TRANSPORTATION demonstrated just how quickly transport is changing, and how important refrigeration will be within the next phase of fleet electrification.

If we didn’t get the chance to meet you at IAA, we’d still like to hear from you.

Bring us your routes and your operating requirements, and let’s look at what moving beyond diesel refrigeration could mean for your fleet. Talk to the Sunswap team.