Volvo in Sweden has announced it has delivered three heavy electric Volvo FH trucks to Gothenburg transport operator Mattson Åkeri with he trucks set to handle aGCM of 74 tonnes.
Volvo says that more and more hauliers are now starting to invest in electric trucks for heavy transport in Sweden for the past few weeks, testing has been ongoing on one of the trucks in container traffic in the port area of Arendal in Gothenburg.
The company said test is called a HCT (High-Capacity Transport) project towing two trailers with a total length of 32 m and with a 74 tonnes GCM.
“We want to show that all-electric solutions also work in applications with high total weights and a high utilization rate. Together with Mattson Åkeri, the Swedish Transport Administration and several other partners, we are now looking at how we can optimize the operation of the electric truck, including how charging should take place in the most efficient way,” said project manager of the HCT project within Volvo’s technology organisation, Lena Larsson, .
The electric truck being tested is a Volvo FH Electric 6X4 and is charged with green electricity at the two fast 180 kW chargers that Mattsson Åkeri has installed in the company’s depot in Arendal. In the long term, the truck will also run between Gothenburg and the city of Borås, 70 km from Gothenburg.
“Driving long and heavy loads using electricity works very well so far, and we can carry as much cargo as a diesel truck,” says Jan-Olof Mattsson, CEO of Mattson Åkeri. “The truck runs 12 hours a day, with a stop for charging when the driver takes a break. We charge with green electricity and thus get no CO2 emissions. Silent, electric operation also means a better working environment for the driver.”
Volvo Trucks said that since production of all-electric trucks started in 2019, the company has sold close to 5,000 electric trucks in 40 countries around the world.
Volvo claims that today it offers the industry’s widest product range with six electric models in series production that meet a broad range of needs for transport in and between cities. It says that globally it has set the target that half of all trucks sold will be electric by 2030.
The company said that High-Capacity Transports (HCT) means that the vehicle’s length and/or gross weight is allowed to increase, which allows for a larger load to be transported per vehicle.
it said that HCT can be applied on all types of drivelines. The idea is that HCT will contribute to lower transport costs, reduced environmental impact, higher traffic safety, reduced road wear and lower maintenance costs.
In Europe there are a number of ongoing and planned HCT projects.
One example is Finland, where it is permitted to drive with 76 tonnes of total weight and 34,5m truck combinations on most roads. Another is Sweden, where it is allowed to drive 74 tonnes (BK4 road network) and test, with permission from authorities, truck combinations of up to 34,5m and 100 tonnes on a defined road network.
