Volvo Trucks spearheaded production of electric trucks in 2019 and it wasn’t long before some high profile operations were joining the company’s ambitious path to a fossil-free future.
Among them was Swedish operator Kaunis Iron.
After outlining plans to invest the Swedish equivalent of more than A$74 million in new electric trucks, the ball started rolling at Kaunis Iron in the northern winter of 2021 when a four-axle Volvo FMX Electric rigid tipper grossing around 32 tonnes started tests in typically Arctic conditions. It was the first step in what many hoped would be a radical change at the mining company.
Speaking at the time, Kaunis Iron head of logistics, Lars Wallgren said, “Our goal is to achieve fossil-free transport by 2025.
“We are working hard right now to solve our transport with electric trucks. If we succeed, we can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 15,000 tonnes per year at the current production rate.”
Critically, he added, “We will start the next phase using 74 tonne trucks in 2023, with the aim of moving up to 90 tonnes.”
Since then, however, the electric charge at Kaunis Iron appears to have stalled due in no small part to the severity of Arctic winters on drivers. In fact, the FMX Electric rigid has been the only battery-electric truck to work in the operation to date and even then, it was a brief trial of just a month or so.
The problem is, it seems, the inability of the truck to keep the driver warm. Without the inherent heating system afforded by a diesel engine, drivers were soon shivering when ambient temperatures plunged way below zero.
Apparently, an electric heater simply drew too much power and no amount of additional sheeting in and under the cab was able to stop the freeze when temperatures regularly dropped to minus 30 deg. C or lower.
Despite the apparent setback at Kaunis Iron, it would be naïve and even foolhardy to suggest that Volvo’s commitment to a fossil-free future is in any way diminished.
For starters, Volvo Trucks president Roger Alm is passionate in his commitment to a carbon-free future and more to the point, intent on realising Volvo’s stated goal of net zero emissions in all its products by 2040.
“We have been doing electric trucks for four years but we have been doing diesel trucks for 100 years,” he said in a recent interview, “so we are still very much in the starting phase of the electrification journey.
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“Even so, we have summarised commercial operations and found that our (electric) trucks have travelled around 35 million kilometres, equal to 900 laps around the world, in 45 countries around the world, all in four years.
“Yes, the volumes are still very small compared to diesels but it’s growing,” he said, emphasising there are now eight models in Volvo’s battery electric range.
Above all though, Roger Alm remains one of the trucking world’s strongest advocates for electric trucks and overall carbon neutrality.
“We cannot wait (and) we are extremely focussed on zero emissions. Our children and grandchildren require it.”
Have no doubt, the passion is profound.