Volvo electric truck travels 3000 km; longest by an electric CV

The trip helped the company gain important knowledge on the use of e-trucks for long-distance journeys.

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