Thanks to solar panels, Bboxes can now be installed truly anywhere
Since this year, Bpost has been installing Bboxes equipped with solar panels. As a result, the parcel company’s lockers no longer require a connection to the electricity grid. This means Bboxes can now even be placed in the most remote locations.
According to a study conducted by Bpost*, people are willing to travel an average of six minutes to pick up or send a parcel. Bpost wants to go even further and ultimately aims to install a Bbox within five minutes of every Belgian resident. To achieve this, the parcel company is constantly looking for new locations for its lockers.
Green and flexible
What is new is that Bpost no longer needs to take access to the electricity grid into account. Since the beginning of this year, the company has been installing Bboxes powered by solar panels and a battery. These lockers are fully self-sufficient, and the battery has a lifespan of ten years. Around 400 of these new Bboxes have already been installed, and Bpost plans to add another 600 by the end of the year.
It is a green choice, but also one that improves accessibility. Previously, Bpost relied on existing electricity connections, limiting locker locations to places near supermarkets, train stations or other infrastructure. Today, public locations are also an option. For example, cities or municipalities may wish to install a locker on a village square or along a public road.
Laurens Himpe, Chief Automed Parcel Officer at Bpost: “This marks the end of our reliance on a fixed power connection for our Bboxes. This creates many new opportunities for governments, customers and businesses, which can now truly rely on the 24/7 convenience of a Bbox anywhere.”
In addition to being a green solution, the solar-powered Bboxes are also modular. This means extra compartments can still be added or removed after installation, or larger or smaller lockers can be selected. This allows Bpost to respond more flexibly to changing consumer behaviour or long-lasting peak periods.
694,000 new Bbox users
Usage figures show that Belgians are increasingly choosing parcel locker delivery. Over the past year, 694,000 customers used a Bbox for the first time. The number of parcels delivered to Bboxes also increased by 90%. During the same period, the number of Bpost lockers installed across the country doubled so that capacity could keep pace with growing demand.
* Study carried out by Profacts in 2024 (n=1004) on behalf of Bpost.
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