Heavy-duty trucks are mainly powered by internal combustion engines, a primary source of dangerous tailpipe pollution contributing to various serious public health issues. To reduce tailpipe emissions, many truck manufacturers are building their electric truck that does not produce harmful gases. Also, they are quieter and have a lower operating cost as electricity is more reasonable than fuel.
However, electric trucks have big batteries that take a long time to recharge, and sometimes e-trucks experience problems such as reduced capacity and range.
Volvo has delivered three heavy-duty line-haul electric trucks to Danfoss that will operate fixed routes between Danfoss sites in Denmark. One of the three e-trucks will operate 24 hours a day and five days a week without significant charging downtime.
The new 24-hour e-trucks will operate on a route between the Danfoss sites in Denmark and have advanced charging technology.
Each of Danfoss’ sites will have customized superchargers from Danish company GodEnergi that will be used to rapidly charge the truck’s battery during off-loading and on-loading at each stop, which typically takes about 15 minutes.
Additionally, advanced charging technology and the relatively short routes allow electric trucks to serve continuously, 24 hours a day, up to five days a week, only requiring extended overnight charging on weekends.
Torben Christensen, Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of Global Services, Danfoss, said in a statement: “The shift to electric vehicles is part of Danfoss’ commitment to become carbon neutral in scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030. With these new Volvo e-trucks, we add extra speed to the decarbonization of Danfoss’ operations. By transitioning our own fleet of transport vehicles to be fully electric, we want to demonstrate to our customers and other companies around the world that it’s challenging but not impossible to switch to electric transport vehicles and essential if you want to decarbonize your business.”
The delivery of three e-trucks is part of a larger partnership between Volvo Trucks and Danfoss, focusing on sustainable electric transport operations. After implementation, the e-trucks will reduce Danfoss’ Scope 1 and 2 emissions in Denmark by 10-15%.
Moreover, Danfoss Editron supplies the Onboard Charger and Electric Power Supply (OCEPS) to all Volvo electric trucks. The dual functionality of OCEPS provides 43 kW of power to charge the truck overnight within 8-9 hours. The 43kW also acts as an electric power take-off (ePTO) to power off-highway vehicles such as excavators and wheel loaders.
Nine fully electric Volvo trucks will be in operation before 2024. With this transformation, Danfoss will be the first company in Denmark to operate 24 hours a day.
