July 21 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) manufacturer Dronamics said that it has signed a partnership agreement with German logistics company DHL Deutsche Post for the joint development of solutions and offering of same-day cargo drone deliveries.
"This partnership has the potential to generate 1.86 billion euro ($2.2 billion) to Dronamics’ revenues annually, with plans underway to build and operate over 4,000 cargo drones to support the partnership in the coming years," Svilen Rangelov, co-founder and CEO of Dronamics, said in a statement published on the company's website.
The partnership aims to combine the middle-mile cargo drones of the Bulgarian company with DHL’s first and last-mile services. As part of the agreement, Dronamics will provide equipment and expertise to operate the unmanned drone flights, employing staff in handling and technical roles, according to the statement.
The first commercial flights of the same-day drone cargo services are expected to begin in 2022, Dronamics said. The two companies will offer the respective services to customers using Dronamics’ drone delivery network and Black Swan drones. Both companies are discussing mutual exclusivity for middle-mile drone deliveries in selected industries and markets, according to the statement.
Dronamics also said that its goal to become carbon-negative by 2027 and operate on sustainable biofuels in the future will play a part in helping DHL achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
Last month, Dronamics said that it signed a partnership agreement with Germany-based logistics provider Hellmann to develop and offer a pioneering new transport service for the cross-border transportation of time-critical goods. Hellmann plans to offer the first routes with unmanned cargo drones from Dronamics as early as next year.
This is the first of several key strategic partners that Dronamics will be working with to commercialise and pilot its drone delivery service worldwide, the company said at the time.
Sofia-based Dronamics is developing the cargo UAV "The Black Swan" - a revolutionary fixed-wing unmanned aircraft that can transport 350 kg at a distance of 2,500 km cheaper than any aircraft in existence, according to information published on the company's LinkedIn profile.
According to commercial register data, Dronamics is 100%-owned by U.K.-based Dronamics Global Limited.
Bonn-headquartered DHL offers a portfolio of logistics services ranging from national and international parcel delivery, e-commerce shipping and fulfillment solutions, international express, road, air and ocean transport to industrial supply chain management. The company has 380,000 employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide.
($ = 0.848409 euro)