Denmark
Scania will supply at least 78 fully electric L-series trucks, with an additional 23 trucks as optional, to Amager ressourcecenter (ARC) for urban waste handling in the Copenhagen region. The first two trucks were delivered in December 2021.
The fleet consists of a mix of mostly 6x2*4 chassis fitted with 300kWh of battery capacity with some 4x2 chassis with 165kWh battery capacity. Both types have a 230kW electric motor, low-entry L-series cabs and the Scania City Door. Duty cycle is two shifts per day up to some 120km, or 30,000km/year. Although the charging system tender had not been finalised at print date, the vehicles are expected to be charged overnight.
The contract also included from eight to 10 years’ maintenance by Scania’s Danish distributor and wholly-owned dealer Scania Denmark.
Decarbonising waste management and recycling is said to be an important part of Copenhagen’s goal to become the world’s first carbon-neutral capital city by 2025.
Germany
One of the first battery-electric Mercedes-Benz eActros out of series production is going to the logistics service provider Dachser. The eActros 300 will replace the prototype that has been in practical trials with Dachser in Stuttgart since 2019.
“The eActros has proven its everyday value in Stuttgart, especially when it comes to the emission-free delivery of palletised goods to customers. We also see some potential in shuttle traffic for the all-electric truck. We assume that the vehicle will find a wide range of applications in sustainable cargo logistics,” said Stefan Hohm, chief development officer and member of the Dachser Board of Management.
In Stuttgart, Dachser delivers general cargo, especially palletised shipments that are too large and heavy for parcel shipping, with the eActros to its downtown customers. In addition, the electric truck, in conjunction with a FUSO eCanter (7.5 tonnes), supplies an inner-city microhub with shipments, which are then distributed over the last mile with electrically supported cargo bikes.
He added: “The series-production eActros is an important component of our city delivery concept Dachser Emission-Free Delivery, which we are currently expanding to 11 European metropolitan regions.”
For the application, the e-truck was configured with a 4x2 wheel formula and a box body from SPIER.
The eActros’ batteries can consist of either three (eActros 300) or four battery packs (eActros 400), each of which has an installed capacity of 112kWh and a usable capacity of around 97kWh. The technological heart of the electric truck is its drive unit, which consists of a rigid electric axle with two integrated electric motors and a two-speed transmission. The two liquid-cooled motors deliver a continuous output of 330kW and a peak output of 400kW.
The vehicle is leased from the Mercedes-Benz Bank Group with a German government subsidy.
Germany
Pellworm is celebrating a new era of sustainable mobility. Holiday guests and islanders can now for the first time use a fully electric urban bus to travel around the Frisian island, located off Germany’s north coast. Bus operator Neue Pellwormer Dampfschiffahrts has purchased a MAN Lion’s City 12 E.
This fully electric urban bus transports islanders and guests from the ferry terminal to the main town of Tammensiel, and enables holidaymakers to take tours around the island – all emission-free. “We’re really pleased that acquiring this bus is enabling us to take a small step towards climate neutrality on Pellworm,” says Sven Frener, the managing director of the operator. This operator purchased the fully electric urban bus in the context of a joint project with other transport companies which was funded by the German government. The island’s electricity comes almost entirely from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and biogas. This eco-friendly energy mix is also used to recharge the bus, which will also be used for school runs, so it is equipped with interurban seating and lap and diagonal seat belts.
Elsewhere in Germany, transport companies in Hamburg, Cologne, Braunschweig, Munich and Nuremberg are already relying on this long-range e-bus. The fully electric powertrain in the rigid bus has an output of 160kW to a maximum of 240kW. The energy for this stems from the modular batteries with 480kWh of installed capacity.
Italy
Italian company Gorent has taken delivery of a 26-tonne Renault Trucks D Wide ZE for waste collection in the Tuscan capital. This is the first Renault Trucks electric vehicle in Italy.
Florence is paving the way in energy transition and has reduced its air pollution by 20% over the last five years, with nitrogen dioxide levels falling both in the city centre and suburbs. Dario Nardella, mayor of Florence, considers the issue of environmental protection as a top priority: “Florence has begun its green revolution,” stated the mayor. ”The arrival of this Renault Trucks vehicle coincides with our determination to boost electric mobility in the city centre, with the aim of improving air quality and reducing noise pollution and, ultimately, helping to preserve our cultural heritage.”
Gorent specialises in the rental of vehicles for urban cleaning. This Renault Trucks D Wide ZE, which emits no air or noise pollution in operation, will be used to collect household waste in Florence, boosting the quality of life of local residents. The vehicle will also be able to operate regardless of any traffic restrictions introduced by the city council.
Norway
Posten Norge, the Norwegian postal service, is taking big steps to cut greenhouse gas emissions from its distribution trucks. It has now ordered 29 electric trucks from Volvo.
All trucks have the same driveline but will come in different configurations of the Volvo FL and FE models, with two and three axles respectively. All have box bodies ranging in size to accommodate 15, 18 and 21 pallets. The most common model ordered was an FE 4x2 with capacity of 18 pallets.
“We are happy to have made this deal and we want to put these vehicles in operation quickly, from Tromsø in the north to Kristiansand in the south. 37% of our fleet now runs on renewable energy – and that share will increase significantly going forward. We have an ambitious environmental strategy that will benefit the whole country and in order to keep the pace up in this important work, we need quality-focused and ambitious partners like Volvo,” says Kenneth Tjønndal Pettersen, press officer at Posten Norge.
Sweden
Scania is to supply five battery-electric vehicles and 1.6MW of charging equipment to Swedish haulier Falkenklev Logistik for a charging hub and solar park in southern Sweden.
The haulier’s plan is for a 22-vehicle electric charging station at a new company depot in Malmö. The site, which could potentially be expanded to charge up to 40 vehicles simultaneously, will become Sweden’s largest truck charging station when it opens later this year. It is the result of an imaginative project involving several companies in the transport and renewable energy ecosystems.
Falkenklev Logistik’s scheme is key to its goal of making its whole vehicle fleet electric. The five Scania battery electric 4x2 trucks, with vehicle bodies built by SKAB, will be used by the haulier in goods distribution throughout Skåne in southern Sweden.
The charging station in Malmö will be supplied by Finnish manufacturer Kempower and delivered by Scania. The system is built on smart technology that can supply energy based on the number of vehicles charging simultaneously, with an initial maximum output per vehicle of 250kW (for up to eight vehicles simultaneously, or 80kW to 20) and 300A, and the potential to upgrade to 320kW per vehicle in the future. Consideration has been given to making the site future-proof to allow charging of coming generations of battery-electric vehicles with bigger batteries and longer range.
Falkenklev has also commissioned the solar energy company Soltech Energy Solutions to build a 1.5-hectare solar park along with a 2MW battery energy storage system to create a state-of-the-art energy hub. But perhaps the most striking detail of the initiative is that the charging stations will be publicly available for charging of other vehicles, in addition to the haulier’s own trucks.
Falkenklev Logistik’s CEO Victor Falkenklev says: “With the need to become more sustainable and the way diesel prices are increasing, it was quite obvious to me that we had to do something, and we are committed to electrifying our fleet.”
The climate fund of Swedish environmental protection agency Naturvårdsverket will cover half the cost of the SEK 18m (£1.45m) project. Falkenklev is paying for the rest.
The trucks supplied are 4x2 rigids fitted with P cabs and 165kWh batteries, providing 230kW and 1,300Nm torque (continuous) and a 60kW electric PTO. The vehicles operate within urban distribution.
UK
Five 37-tonne DAF CF fully electric tractors have joined Amazon’s middle mile delivery fleet, transporting goods with zero tailpipe emissions. The 4x2 tractors feature a 210kW electric motor drawing power from a 315kWh (effective) battery pack.
The trucks are the first electric middle mile trucks Amazon is operating in Europe. The five vehicles replace diesel trucks, resulting in up to 100,000 annual road miles fuelled with renewable electricity.
“Thanks to smart planning and fast charging, the CF Electric can clock up to 500 kilometres per day,” stated DAF Trucks’ director fleet sales, Eelco van Veen.
“Amazon is one of the first companies in the world to put electric heavy goods trucks on the road,” said John Boumphrey, Amazon UK country manager.