[RahulNagaraj]

Volvo's 40-tonne FH electric semi-trailer truck recently completed a 3000 km round trip between Zurich (Switzerland) and Valencia (Spain), making it the longest distance travelled by a commercial electric truck to date.

The trip was made by the Swiss logistics company, Krummen Kerzers, and the truck was driven by Balint Schnell, carrying 20 tonnes of groceries. It was the first time Schnell was driving an electric truck, requiring him to not only familiarise himself with the semi but also study the route and plan ahead. Following the EU driving & rest times, Schnell stopped 20 times during the entire trip while also planning the route in a way that the charging times coincided with these breaks.



The entire round-trip is said to have taken him a week to complete, which in a conventional diesel truck would have taken 4 days. The FH electric is said to have a range of up to 300 km on a single charge. Schnell stated that the route isn't designed for charging electric semis, making him use regular EV stations. However, if the EV station was used by other vehicles, the charging speeds would reduce drastically.

Peter Krummen, Co-Managing Director of Krummen Kerzers, stated that the trip helped the company gain important knowledge on the use of e-trucks for long-distance journeys. He also added that the entire trip helped save 3 tons of CO2 emissions.

Source: Electrek

Link to Team-BHP news

[Aman2438]

Really great initiative.It must have been a daunting task and surely demands patience from the driver's end. But as we can clearly see that with just 300 kms range and with lack of charging infrastructure EVs are not going to be viable for long haul routes. I really think that unless there's any breakthrough in battery technology which increases the energy density of batteries they are not going to be suitable for the long haul purposes. I believe for long haul Fuel Cell Electric vehicles are the way to go forward as they have much higher range and much lower refilling time compared to battery electric vehicles.

[FiestaST]

For a second, I thought the truck travelled that distance in a single charge lol

[love_travelling]

Originally Posted by Aman2438

[...]
But as we can clearly see that with just 300 kms range and with lack of charging infrastructure [...]

This is as of today and is simply a snapshot in time.

Originally Posted by Aman2438

[...] EVs are not going to be viable for long haul routes.[...]

If I may disagree. Using the above snapshot to forecast that EVs are not going to be viable is not a good way to forecast. If one were to look at the trend of how EVs, the charging ecosystem have developed, then a better way to put it would be: EVs are currently not viable for the long haul routes but with greater deployment of infra & availability of electricity this will change in the future.

[Asoon]

Still a technology demonstrator, with 300km range and 20 stoppage points and 75% more time than regular truck. Commercial EV will not be solved unless we have a battery which can offer 1000+ km range or we figure out a mechanism to charge while moving (access to power like trains) or charging to 100% time to come down to 1/20th of current figures.

An ICE vehicle takes 5-10 mins to top up its range and EVs take multiple hours, even if we solve the charging stations the amount of charging real-estate required for mainstream EV penetration is unthinkable.

[SKC-auto]

Originally Posted by Asoon

Still a technology demonstrator, with 300km range and 20 stoppage points and 75% more time than regular truck. Commercial EV will not be solved unless we have a battery which can offer 1000+ km range or we figure out a mechanism to charge while moving (access to power like trains) or charging to 100% time to come down to 1/20th of current figures.

An ICE vehicle takes 5-10 mins to top up its range and EVs take multiple hours, even if we solve the charging stations the amount of charging real-estate required for mainstream EV penetration is unthinkable.

Tesla Semi can do 500miles or 800km and can do the trip in the same time as any ICE truck.

In Europe, drivers need to rest for 45mins after 4.5hours of driving which is limited by max speed of 90kmph. So a truck with a range of 4.5hrs*90kmph = 315km and can charge in 45mins is what is needed. During the rest time all the trucks are anyways parked, so no need of extra real estate.

The reason this truck took so long is because they are using chargers used for cars, probably detaching the trailer everytime the charge is required.

[pioneer_rags]

Imagine when ICE vehicles first came to the world, horse riders would have given 100 reasons on why ICE will fail.

This thread reminds me of a beautiful book 'innovators dilemma' where the author explains how new disruptions with all its shortcomings will eventually replace the old technology . I remember one particular story in the book where mechanical excavators were eventually replaced by hydraulic ones. Initially hydraulic excavators were only used for small ones but after seeing the reliability of these machines, they replaced mechanical ones. Mechanical ones were bigger, required less time and money but when they broke down, it took a lot of time to repair them. Hydraulic ones, though less capable than mechanical ones eventually replaced them.

I am sure technology will improve and while the electric vehicles may not be the perfect replacement for ICE, it will still solve the purpose of transport and will be the way forward.

But electric vehicles being positioned as sustainable products or green products is something that is far far from true

[Aman2438]

Originally Posted by love_travelling

This is as of today and is simply a snapshot in time.



If I may disagree. Using the above snapshot to forecast that EVs are not going to be viable is not a good way to forecast. If one were to look at the trend of how EVs, the charging ecosystem have developed, then a better way to put it would be: EVs are currently not viable for the long haul routes but with greater deployment of infra & availability of electricity this will change in the future.

I agree with your point here. I actually forgot to add this particular point of charging infrastructure here . I just think as of now FCEVs are just more developed for this particular use case (barring infrastructure development in both the cases). I would also repeat that my comment was particularly for the long haul vehicles and not for any other type of vehicle as even in case of infrastructure they'll be requiring much more space compared to maybe a car or a pickup truck. I also think that probably developing the infrastructure is a more herculean task in itself compared to developing better batteries .

[udzgodfather]

Congratulations to Volvo on taking the initiative to drive an electric truck for 3000 kilometers! Volvo's actions have always showed the commitment to sustainability and a forward-thinking mindset, within no time, they will, in touch with the Krummen's will bridge the gap of extra 4 days.

I think charging infra setup facilities should get in touch with big long haul vehicles operators to understand the routes and plan the charging stations accordingly.

[love_travelling]

Originally Posted by Asoon

An ICE vehicle takes 5-10 mins to top up its range and EVs take multiple hours, even if we solve the charging stations the amount of charging real-estate required for mainstream EV penetration is unthinkable.

While I agree with this point for the long trip vehicles, this issue might be solved by having overhead pantographs [1]. If I remember right, I think Nitin Gadkari had been talking about enabling these for the new Delhi-Mumbai highway.

I suspect some of the side advantages is that it will force the trucks to stay in one lane and stay at a relatively constant speed ( if wishes were horses...)...

[1] https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/9/18...-hybrid-trucks