Munich Startup: What is your StartupWhat problem are you solving?
Christoph Tullius, Co-Founder and Managing Director: Today, thousands of pallets are moved every day using forklifts, tugger trains, and trucks – a manual, dangerous, and expensive process.
Ecoro enables fully automated pallet transport on industrial and logistics sites as well as between locations – cost-efficient, CO₂-free and around the clock.
Our system consists of driverless shuttles that automatically transport pallets along their own secure lane network and load and unload them independently at intelligent loading terminals. This automates the entire transport process, from loading to unloading.
Our system is modular and adaptable and can be used for short distances on factory premises and in industrial areas as well as for long-distance connections between hubs (e.g., city logistics).
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Christoph Tullius: There are partially automated systems, yes – but no solution that truly automates the entire pallet transport process, even outdoors.
Conventional driverless transport systems (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) only function with expensive sensors and at low speeds. Rail-based systems, on the other hand, are not flexible and require high investments.
Ecoro closes precisely this gap: We combine cost-effective camera-based automation technology with intelligent loading and unloading terminals, creating a fully automated system. Our vehicles can travel up to 60 km/h, 24/7. This extends automation beyond the factory floor.
Experience in automotive and logistics as a foundation
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Christoph Tullius: The idea arose from our shared experience in the automotive and logistics industries, as well as Daniel's experience with Hyperloop systems. We recognized that automated transportation is still in its infancy, with complex regulations, expensive and complex technology, and safety concerns slowing development. At the same time, our customers are actively seeking automation solutions.
Based on this insight, we founded Ecoro to finally fully automate pallet transport. Our founding team combines over 40 years of experience in automotive, robotics, and logistics—and we share a long-standing friendship.
What began as a shared vision is now a multi-award-winning deep-tech startup with partners from industry, research, and infrastructure.
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Christoph Tullius: Our biggest challenges lay in combining hardware and software, two very different worlds that had to mesh perfectly together.
Our goal is not only to develop a driverless vehicle that operates reliably even outside of production halls, but also to combine various system components into a functioning overall system – unified in our Ecoro software platform. Only in this way can we offer our customers a cost-effective system solution as a one-stop shop.
At the same time, it was challenging to secure financing and convince investors of our product before a physical demonstrator was available. These hurdles forced us to work with great focus, creativity, and collaboration—and they significantly strengthened us as a team.
From pilot projects to international scaling
Munich Startup: Where would you like to be in one year, where in five years?
Christoph Tullius: In October of this year, we will present our next, significantly improved shuttle generation and a fully functional demonstration system—the basis for our first pilot projects starting in 2026. We aim to deliver the first vehicles to our pilot customers within a year.
In five years, we see ourselves as a leading provider of automated pallet transport – with hundreds of shuttles in operation, an industrial series partner at our side, and initial projects in international markets.
Our long-term goal is to widely deploy our cost-effective camera-based control technology and simultaneously establish a new transport category: automated freight transport on dedicated lanes as the backbone of climate-neutral logistics.
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Christoph Tullius: Munich is an ideal location for us, particularly due to its proximity to technology, industry, and science. Collaboration with partners such as the Technical University of Munich, the Garching Research Center, and programs like EIT Urban Mobility has significantly accelerated our development. At the same time, Munich offers a strong network of investors, innovation centers, and corporations open to deep-tech collaborations.
The biggest challenge remains the competition for talent and the high cost of living, but the innovative environment and the quality of contacts more than make up for this.
Munich Startup: Quick exit or long breath?
Christoph Tullius: Clearly: staying power with a strategic perspective. We are building a technology that will sustainably transform industrial processes – this requires time, strong partners, and solid growth. A quick exit was never our goal. Instead, we want to develop Ecoro to the point where a strategic acquisition by an industrial or automotive group makes sense in the long term – ideally from 2029, when our technology is ready for series production and internationally scalable. Until then, we are investing in innovation and substance, not in hype.
