The Loading Bay

Most logistics operators are still delivering a handful of parcels to remote villages using two-tonne vans because that's the only option they've had. But what if a drone could do it faster, cheaper, and with a fraction of the energy? In this episode, Jamie Sands talks to Etienne Louvet, founder and CEO of Iona, about how fixed-wing delivery drones fit into real logistics operations and why multimodal fleet decisions need better tools than a human planner and a spreadsheet.

Etienne explains why flying 20 parcels up to 100km on a 2kW battery beats sending a van down country roads, how Iona's tilt-rotor design solves the cargo volume problem that held back earlier drone trials, and why the real product isn't a drone but a network-as-a-service model that plugs into existing operations. The conversation also covers where UK aviation regulation is falling behind Ireland and the EU, the risk that Google and Amazon will vertically integrate the entire autonomous logistics stack while smaller operators wait for paperwork, and why data accuracy and data sovereignty are prerequisites for any of this to work.

This one's for fleet operators, transport planners, and logistics business owners trying to figure out what multimodal actually looks like in practice, and what they should be doing now to not get left behind.

🔗 Connect with Etienne Louvet: https://www.linkedin.com/in/etiennelouvet/

🔗 Connect with Jamie Sands: https://www.linkedin.com/in/j-sands/

🔗 IONA Website: https://ionadrones.com/

🔗 TwentyForty Website: https://twentyforty.uk/

🔗 TwentyForty on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/twenty-forty/

#FreightDecarbonisation #DeliveryDrones, #MultimodalLogistics, #FleetElectrification, #Drone #DeliveryUK, #RouteOptimisation, #LogisticsInnovation, #DataSovereignty, #AutonomousLogistics, #LastMileDelivery

Michael Ayres and Dr Henry Clarke from Flexible Power Systems join Jamie for a deep dive into the real world mechanics of fleet electrification. Michael brings the system view shaped by years in grid-scale storage and transport refrigeration. Henry brings the platform logic, modelling, and the engineering reality behind FPS Operate.

Together they map out how electrification actually behaves once you move past PowerPoint and start dealing with messy sites, mixed fleets, inconsistent telematics feeds, energy constraints and human planners trying to keep everything moving.

The conversation spans data, automation, energy, logistics, and the very near future where fleets, chargers and operators begin negotiating with each other through intelligent agents rather than one central controller.

What We Cover

• The truth about telematics data quality and why cleaning it matters
• Why EV operations need more than charger data and vehicle data in isolation
• Charge optimisation: scheduling, constraints, price signals, and real time routing
• Removing EV-related decisions from drivers, planners and shift managers
• The emerging challenge of multi-operator charger sharing
• Dynamic negotiation between fleets and why one “master orchestrator” will not exist
• AI’s role: optimisation at scale, agent behaviour, and interface-level intelligence

Guests

Michael Ayres — Managing Director, Flexible Power Systems

Economist and systems thinker with a background in grid-scale storage, energy flexibility and commercial fleet electrification.

Dr Henry Clarke — Head of Platforms, Flexible Power Systems

Engineer and modeller leading development of FPS Operate, focusing on optimisation, real time data integration and cross-system orchestration.

Links and Resources

• Flexible Power Systems
• TransiT

Follow Jamie on LinkedIn for commentary, behind-the-scenes posts, and spicy logistics takes.

Visit twentyforty.uk to explore the platform, get involved, and find out what’s next for the future of freight.

Michael Boxwell (Voltempo) and Martin Rees (Berkeley Coachworks) have been at the bleeding edge of innovation longer than most people have had an EV. From land speed records and charging breakthroughs to long-forgotten prototypes and improbable partnerships. This is what happens when two pioneers sit down, crack open a drink, and dig into the stories that shaped a movement.

There’s no script, no agenda, just two old friends trading tales from the past, the future, and everything in between.

What We Cover

• Early days: building things that shouldn’t have worked
• Land speed records and electrified lunacy
• The slow burn of charging infrastructure
• What nearly made it, what never did
• Missed bets, big wins, and accidental genius
• The long road to the present — and what’s still ahead

Guests

Michael Boxwell — CEO, Voltempo

EV charging innovator, land-speed obsessive, and the man behind some of the most ambitious energy tech in the UK.

Martin Rees — Chairman, Berkeley Coachworks

Coachbuilder, collaborator, and creative force behind one of the most iconic names in British vehicle design.

• Berkeley Coachworks
• Voltempo
• eFreight 2030

Follow Jamie on LinkedIn for commentary, behind-the-scenes posts, and spicy logistics takes.

Visit twentyforty.uk to explore the platform, get involved, and find out what’s next for the future of freight.

Chris Welch (Welch Group) and Jack Millington (Renault Trucks) sit down to tackle the real-world realities of fleet decarbonisation. One’s running trucks, the other’s building them — and in this episode, they hash out what happens when operational demands meet evolving tech.

From charging challenges to payload trade-offs, it’s a candid, collaborative look at what’s working, what still isn’t, and how to actually get this transition moving.

• Infrastructure vs operations: where it breaks, and why
• Timing problems: matching vehicle delivery to depot readiness
• The business case: total cost, ROI, and operational trade-offs
• Driver impact: from range anxiety to regen techniques
• Payload limits and why axle weights still matter
• Grid capacity, charging curves, and fast vs smart
• Future planning: hydrogen myths, automation realities, and what comes next

Chris Welch — Managing Director, Welch Group

Running electric trucks every day and turning a regional haulage firm into a charging hub for others.

Jack Millington — Energy Transition Manager, Renault Trucks

Engineer turned electrification strategist, helping fleets navigate everything from specs to infrastructure.

• Renault Trucks E-Tech T
• Welch Group
• eFreight 2030

Follow Jamie on LinkedIn for commentary, behind-the-scenes posts, and spicy logistics takes.

Visit twentyforty.uk to explore the platform, get involved, and find out what’s next for the future of freight.