DHL and Volvo are experimenting with long-haul electric trucks
Our future must become much more sustainable. Although emissions are now falling in many places, it is questionable whether that will be enough to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. One reason is also the transport of goods, which is usually done overland by diesel-powered trucks. To make them more environmentally friendly in the future, DHL and the Swedish manufacturer Volvo are testing new models.
The goals are ambitious, as in the past it was mostly about the transport of goods over short distances. Now a distance of 150 kilometers is to be covered regularly by the Volvo e-truck. The experiment is to take place between the Swedish cities of Gothenburg and Jönköping, with recharging in between on DHL and Volvo premises.
The data generated from it are an important result of the experiment. When transporting by truck, every second usually counts, and at the same time the technology must be affordable. The optimal utilization of the vehicle and the number of charging points or the duration of the charging process also play a very important role.
The company’s own company’s climate targets also motivate DHL to possibly use such technologies more often in the future. The aim of the logistics company is to eliminate all emissions during the entire transport. Since 2007, DHL’s CO2 efficiency has improved by 35 percent.
Volvo also wants to reduce its own ecological fingerprint with sustainable trucks and not miss out on future market opportunities. The company’s entire fleet is to be electrified by 2040, and conventionally powered models are to gradually give way to their electric counterparts. Because here, too, one thing has been recognized: If the planet becomes uninhabitable, no one needs a truck anymore.
Own opinion:
With the partnership presented here, DHL and Volvo are sending out an important signal. Global transport urgently needs to be converted to more environmentally friendly technologies such as (green) hydrogen and electricity. The German company DHL has already shown in the past that it is not averse to emission-free transport. Even if the street scooters were unfortunately not perfect, the little speedsters were a step in the right direction.
via electrek
