Although personal transportation is steadily going electric, it's also worth looking at other industries where electrification could be beneficial. Take the haulage industry, for instance. Although the current infrastructure can't support the full-on electrification of trucks, there are some areas where using EVs might be worth it. One of the major manufacturers that have adopted truck electrification is Volvo. The brand introduced new, more powerful batteries for its medium-duty electric trucks.
Volvo Trucks started manufacturing fully electric trucks in 2019. Since then, the brand has sold about 5,000 electric trucks in 40 countries across the globe. The company's goal is that half of its global total truck sales will be electric by the decade's end.
Volvo's medium-duty truck range consists of the Volvo FL Electric and Volvo FE Electric. The new batteries for these vehicles provide 42% extra energy capacity. As a result, they can achieve a range of up to 450 km (about 280 miles) on a single charge.
The medium-duty trucks are ideal for city deliveries. Their increased range allows them to handle most types of routes and assignments in urban areas. What's more, they can provide power for equipment for energy-consuming tasks, such as city construction or refuse handling.
The improved batteries enable the Volvo FL Electric to have a range of up to 450 km, while the Volvo FE Electric can be driven for up to 275 km (171 miles). When dealing with longer shifts, drivers can use the extra energy to carry out their city driving tasks without recharging.
Photo: Volvo Trucks
Jessica Sandström, SVP of Product Management at Volvo Trucks, said, "With a range of up to 450 km, our electric trucks are ready to replace our customers' entire fleet of diesel city trucks." What's more, Volvo's trucks can speed up the transition toward cleaner and quieter city transport, as both models produce minimal emissions and noise.
The higher capacity means that fewer batteries are required to produce the same power currently available. So, in the case of a customer assignment that requires a shorter range, the truck can use fewer batteries and instead increase the payload. Every battery not carried means the truck's payload grows by 500 kg (1,102 lbs.). Of course, that depends on the customers and the task at hand – Volvo works closely with its customers to discover the ideal solution. The Volvo FL Electric is powered by a single electric motor and supports three to six batteries, while the FE Electric features two electric motors fed by three to four batteries.
You might think replacing a single diesel truck with an electric one might not make a huge difference. However, the carbon emissions reduction quickly adds up over time. If you were to use an electric version of the Volvo FL or Volvo Fe instead of its diesel counterparts, approximately 30 tons of CO2 could be saved every year.
The enhanced Volvo FL and FE Electric trucks are now available to order – Volvo Trucks estimated deliveries to take place in the autumn of 2023.
Starting out with a motorcycle permit just because he could get one two years earlier than a driver's license, Mircea keeps his passion for bikes (motor or no motor) alive to this day. His lifelong dream is to build his own custom camper van. Full profile
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