A new heavy battery electric truck has started to operate on the roads in Mälardalen region, Sweden. The electric truck is one of the first of its kind and can handle loads up to 64 tonnes. It is Scania, transport- and machinery service company Foria, and recycling- and environment company Rang-Sells that has made this possible. The electric truck is a part of REEL-project.
“Our new electric truck will be a part of a transport solution that enables a circular system. Now Foria is able to transport fly ashes from the thermal power station in Mälardalen to Ragn-Sells’ new facilities where valuable salts can be recycled and reused, without emissions from the truck,” says Fredrik Allard, Head of Power Solutions, Scania.
To accelerate the development of electrified, emission-free heavy transport, Scania, Foria and Ragn-Sells have started a collaboration across industries. Scania has delivered the battery electric truck that can handle loads up to 64 tonnes. Foria is responsible for the truck operations, where it will transport fly ashes from the Mälardalen region’s thermal power station to be recycled at Ragn-Sells new Ash2Salt-facility at Högbytorp, northwest of Stockholm.
The battery electric truck already operates on the roads to transport fly ashes from the thermal power station in Mälardalen to Högbytorp for storage until the new facility is up and running. Today, there are several solutions for electrified transport, but most of them are for shorter distances and with not as heavy trucks.
“This electric truck is a big step and vital for Foria if we are to change to electricity and in that way change a flow that is built around fossil. The collaboration with Scania and Ragn-Sells enables us to learn and evaluate future investments in fossil-free technologies,” says Tove Winiger, Sustainability Manager at Foria.
Once the new facility has opened, the electric truck will work in two shifts to decrease the amount of transports that operate on fossil fuel. To avoid unnecessary and costly stops, the truck will be fast charged when loading and un-loading. At Ragn-Sells facility at Högbytorp, the tech company ABB has delivered two highly efficient chargers with a capacity of 160 kW. The intention is that the same opportunity to charge will be available at the thermal power plant where the fly ash is collected, later on.
“What we do with fly ash is one of the largest investments that have been done within circular recycling of materials in Sweden. We are happy that the collaboration with Scania and Foria enables electrified fossil-free transport of fly ash to and from our facility,” says Erik Wastesson, Project Manager at Ragn-Sells.
This collaboration is a part of Regional Electrified Logistics (REEL), an initiative where leading Swedish companies and organisations accelerate the transition to electrified emission-free transports on our roads. The initiative is led by CLOSER, the Swedish platform for transport efficiency, which benefits from the support of the programme Fordonsstrategisk forskning och Innovation (FFI) to pave the way for the transition to electric freight transport in the Swedish market. Read more here.
Facts about the charging:
ABB offers two charging units with a capacity of 160kW that are adapted for the usage at Högbytorp. These highly efficient chargers enable a fast charging with a broad spectrum of power levels that are well suited for the charging demand adapted for the electric truck’s operations. The charging solution has a robust construction, remote diagnostics and administrative tools that makes it possible to operate long hours. Read more here
