DRONAMICS, DHL unveil partnership for middle-mile drone delivery

July 20, 2021: The middle-mile cargo drone developer and operator, DRONAMICS, unveiled a partnership agreement with DHL to jointly develop solutions and offer same-day cargo drone deliveries 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. In addition, DRONAMICS' goal to become carbon-negative by 2027 and direction to operating on sustainable biofuels in the future will play a part in helping DHL achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

Matthias Heutger, senior vice president, global head of innovation & commercial development at DHL, said, "Innovation is a key part of DHL's DNA. We are constantly exploring new technologies to bring value to our customers, and we believe that cargo drones will be an element in the next generation of transportation in logistics. DRONAMICS is a pioneer and leader in the field of cargo drones and our collaboration will help to open up opportunities for urgent, sensitive and time-critical deliveries. We are excited to pilot the use of the Black Swan in customer operations in the near future."

Svilen Rangelov, co-founder and CEO of DRONAMICS, said, "We are incredibly excited that DRONAMICS has been selected by DHL, the world's largest logistics provider as their first middle-mile drone partner, with a partnership that provides mutual exclusivity in selected industries and markets. This partnership has the potential to generate €1.86 Bn to DRONAMICS' revenues annually, with plans underway to build and operate over 4,000 cargo drones to support the partnership in the coming years."  

The partnership aims to combine DRONAMICS middle-mile cargo drones 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. The first commercial flights of the same-day drone cargo services are expected to begin in 2022.

Founded in 2014 by the Rangelov brothers and based in London (UK) and Sofia (Bulgaria), DRONAMICS is the world's leading developer and operator of large cargo drones. Its flagship Black Swan unmanned aircraft is able of carrying 350 kg of cargo over a distance of up to 2,500 km at up to 80 percent lower cost than any aircraft in existence, enabling same-day shipping over very long distances for e-commerce, pharma, and time-critical shipments.