DB Schenker has gone where no forwarder has gone before in Sweden: using an e-truck on a long-haul route. Shorter routes using smaller e-trucks are growing in popularity, particularly within populated areas such as for distribution transport in cities, but long-haul poses challenges and requirements. The e-trucks need to be able to cope with heavy loads and cover long distances. Daimler has a truck due for launch at the end of this year, that will be able to cover 500 km on a single charge. The one DB Schenker is now testing, however, is Scania’s R 450e e-truck. Measuring 24 meters in length and weighing 64 tons, the e-truck will now be tested on daily long-distance runs. Thanks to its seven batteries with a combined capacity of 728 kilowatt hours, the truck can cover 300 kilometers on a single charge and ‘in Nordic weather conditions’, the press release states.
DB Schenker is the first company in Sweden to deploy an e-truck for long-haul transport, and the R 450e truck is Scania’s first battery-electric long-haul truck with a driving range of 300 km. It is charged with ABB E-mobile’s high-power chargers at DB Schenker’s terminals. The fully electric route (now replacing the previous diesel truck), runs from Jönköping and Södertälje and back, which is an operating distance of around 300 kilometers. The journey-time lasts approximately 3 hours. Transportation will take place between the Swedish terminals at night, so that the shipments can then be distributed to their respective customers during the day.
The move is all part of the E-Charge project – a conglomeration of fourteen partners (from the fields of vehicle construction, science, logistics, electricity and fuel) collaborating to develop and test battery-electric long-distance transportation in real situations across Sweden. The trials take into account drivers’ driving and rest times, and provide data on the impact on the power grid to the effects on transportation and logistics, gathering information on energy consumption, infrastructure requirements, and charger/charging station dimensions. The long-haul tests now kicking off at DB Schenker’s, are the result of three years of preparation and research in the E-Charge project.
Anna Hagberg, Head of Network & Scheduled Services at DB Schenker, said: “For DB Schenker, the purpose is to test and gain experience of fully electric heavy vehicles in long-distance regular traffic. The electrification of heavy vehicles plays a crucial role in our transition to carbon-neutral transport and, since heavy traffic accounts for the largest emissions for us, it is incredibly important.”
