By Azman Usmani | Updated on Jun 12, 2026 at 04:22 AM
Global efforts to transition away from fossil fuels are running into a new challenge: clean energy equipment is getting more complex, hazardous and too big to transport easily.
The complexity of moving giant wind turbine components or batteries that carry fire risks is a challenge for a new energy business which logistics giant DHL Group expects to see grow revenue to €3 billion ($3.5 billion) by 2030 from about €600 million last year, according to Chief Executive Officer Tobias Meyer.
“Large wind turbines now have blades of astonishing dimensions,” Meyer told reporters Thursday, speaking on a video briefing from Amsterdam. “These large cargoes create high wind loads for vessels, require stacking and specialized rigs to transport, as they are also quite vulnerable.”
Dongfang Electric Corp. last year began production of a 26-megawatt wind turbine with blades measuring 153 meters (502 feet), while Ming Yang Smart Energy Group has worked on a mammoth, two-headed 50-megawatt model . Manufacturers are developing giant rotors, which capture more energy, to expand sales into markets with low wind speeds — though installing the super-size equipment typically requires specialized trucks and wide roads.
Read More: China’s Big Wind Blades Could Give an Edge in New Markets: BNEF
Rising battery demand, including from the booming stationary storage sector, is propelling exports of lithium-ion batteries. Storage deployments are forecast to jump 17-fold to 3.8 terawatts by 2050 from 223 gigawatts in 2025, BloombergNEF said in its annual New Energy Outlook published last month.
Yet moving the components can be logistically complex: any unit over 35 kilograms (77.2 pounds) is classified as dangerous goods because of the potential fire risks. Compounding that hazard is a fragmented web of international aviation rules, making the air transport of large batteries the industry’s “single largest gap,” Meyer said.
DHL is establishing a new European battery hub in Holtum, the Netherlands, to handle the growing volume of components needed for electric vehicles and energy storage, and rolling out other specialized handling centers from India to Peru. The company is also deploying custom insulated containers for batteries to protect against thermal shock, rain and cross-contamination while shipping.
Specialized infrastructure is increasingly necessary as new green projects are built in far-flung regions, away from established trade routes, said Oscar de Bok, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding, a unit that specializes in air and ocean freight. “Some of this stuff is extremely complicated,” he said.