Using an electric Volvo FH Electric truck, the longest commercial freight transport journey with an electric truck in Europe has been completed so far – the car owned by the Swiss logistics company “Krummen Kerzers” traveled a distance of 3,000 kilometers from the Swiss city of Zurich to the Spanish city of Valencia and back to Zurich.
The driver’s task was to bring 20 tons of oranges to the store “Cas del Mas” in Switzerland, while the fruit itself is grown near Valencia. It was the first experience with an electric truck for driver Balint Schnell, so he had to familiarize himself with the nuances of this vehicle, plan the route and just think very far ahead.
As for the trip itself, the driver spent a week on the road, although a normal diesel truck would take him four days. Driving an electric truck doesn’t exempt you from following the rules, so Schnell had to comply with working hours, rest periods and all the other things that every truck driver in Europe has to consider. During the trip, he made about 20 stops, moreover, it was necessary to carefully plan so that charging could be combined with a rest break and not waste time.
At the moment, the highways are not equipped with charging points designed for trucks, so this trip had to use the same charging points used by car drivers. According to the driver, the charging speed significantly decreased when other people were charging.
As for the technical parameters of a specific Volvo, it can be completed in different ways, adapting to the specific application. Data on Volvo’s website shows that the available battery capacity is between 180 and 540kWh. Power from 450 to 666 horsepower, while the driving distance on a single charge is up to 300 kilometers. When charging with a power of 250kW, the car will be fully charged in two and a half hours. As for the charging power itself, a new charging plug “MCS” or “Megawatt Charging System” is currently being developed, which can provide charging with a power of one megawatt or even more. This will allow electric trucks to be charged much faster, the only question remaining is how to provide this large capacity for a large number of trucks.
One of the managers of the logistics company, Peters Krummens, said that during this trip the company gained valuable knowledge about the peculiarities of operating an electric truck on long routes, and in addition, this trip produced 3 tons less CO2 emissions than with a conventional car. The company plans to expand its fleet and by the end of 2023 it should have 18 electric trucks.
