Electric Debut

The first Volvo FL Electric to reach New Zealand is being put through initial testing with a customer to be announced in September.

transport solutions for New Zealand customers.

Local importer Motor Truck Distributors (MTD) has been carrying out pre-commercial trials on the first Volvo FL Electric truck to reach New Zealand. The battery electric 16-tonne 4x2 medium duty truck arrived in April with its initial runs on New Zealand roads to validate performance data from Volvo headquarters in Sweden.

The Volvo announcement follows Swedish rival Scania revealing its first electric truck in June. However the Volvo FL sits in a lighter category than the Scania 25P which boasts a 29-tonne GVM and 6x2 options.

MTD says the FL Electric was scheduled to make its public debut at the EROAD Fleet Day 2022 on July 20 at the Globox Arena, Claudelands in Hamilton. Volvo has also been testing the FL Electric in Australia since late-2021.

“The next few months will see us go through the approval and training process to test the FL’s performance under New Zealand conditions,” says MTD’s General Manager Clive Jones.

“It will also give our on-the-ground technical service and support teams the chance to do some hands-on training, putting our team in a great position facing alternative technologies.”

The Volvo FL Electric has a single electric motor developing 130kW, a 600V electrical system and a two-speed transmission. It can be equipped with between three and six battery packs offering a storage capacity of between 200-395kWh.

The truck in New Zealand has four batteries which European trials have set at 150-300kms depending upon conditions and load. Batteries can fully charge over a six-to-eight-hour period using a standard charging system. However, this accelerates with a 150KW charger which gets a flat battery to 85% in just 60 minutes.

New Zealand tests are to determine how different driving styles and terrain impact the battery range.

Volvo says the batteries have an expected life of eight to ten years. At the point when the long-term value of an electric vehicle battery becomes limited for the trucking industry, there is the opportunity for a second life. Electric vehicle batteries retain 70- 80% of their original capacity and can be used in applications within construction and residential settings.

The Volvo FL electric is all about the delivery of smooth power and immediate torque that outperforms a diesel engine, according to MTD Senior Product Engineer, Jamie Bell. “There’s no delay in pulling away from a standing start with an electric powered truck,” commented Jamie. “Where a diesel engine takes some time to get to the top of the torque curve, the FL is there immediately.”

The announcement of a key customer partnership for the commercial phase of the Volvo FL trial is expected in September.

While the FL Electric is designed for a medium duty role and is ideal for metropolitan delivery work, the range of Volvo Trucks electric models is expanding rapidly and Volvo has signalled its intention to offer the entire Volvo Trucks product range fossil-free by 2040.

Globally Volvo Trucks already offers six battery-electric models. Series production of the Volvo FL and FE Electric for city distribution and waste management started in 2019 in Europe while the FH, FM

and FMX Electric are heavy duty trucks with a total weight of up to 44 tonnes already on sale in Europe with production starting during the second half of 2022.

In North America production of the Volvo VNR Electric started in 2021.

In the New Zealand market the order book for a full range including the heavy duty trucks (up to 44T) is due to open as early as 2024.

At the same time as being well advanced with battery electric truck development and combustion engines using renewable

fuels, Volvo Trucks is also turning its attention to hydrogen fuel cells for heavy transport. Volvo Trucks has started to test vehicles using this new technology and in the second half of this decade it will add this technology to its product portfolio as a third CO2-neutral option. Fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCEV) technology offers the potential for produce electricity onboard from hydrogen, with a range of about up to 1000km and the only emissions being water vapor. “We have been developing this technology for some years now, and it feels great to see Deutsche Post DHL is one of Europe’s biggest customers for the Volvo FL Electric. the first trucks successfully running on the test track,” says Roger Alm, President of Volvo Trucks. “The combination of battery electric and fuel cell electric will enable our customers to completely eliminate CO2 exhaust emissions from their trucks, no matter transport assignments.” Volvo says its fuel cell electric trucks will have an operational range comparable to many diesel trucks – up to 1000km – and a refuelling time of less than 15 minutes. The total weight can be around 65 tonnes or even higher, and the two fuel cells have the capacity to generate 300kW of electricity onboard. Customer pilots will start in a few years from now and commercialisation is planned for the latter part of this decade.

net-zero emissions commitments with subsidiary Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) developing the world’s first fuel cell articulated hauler prototype, the Volvo HX04.

The results from testing the HX04 will provide important insights into the possibilities provided by hydrogen and fuel cells as Volvo CE continues research for its future product development programmes. Volvo CE has accelerated its work into sustainable power sources to deliver on a commitment to net-zero value chain greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. Volvo CE already produces a range of batteryelectric solutions. “

“Being inventors of the world’s first articulated hauler more than 55 years ago, we are happy and proud to again drive change with this fuel cell hauler concept,” says Carolina Diez Ferrer, Head of Advanced Engineering Programs at Volvo CE. “While an early prototype, this innovation will give valuable insights into the opportunities of hydrogen in the energy transformation alongside battery-electric solutions. We believe that by exploring multiple technologies and working in partnership we can create the best path forward to decarbonize the construction industry.”

The Volvo HX04 is the result of collaboration between Volvo CE, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, who provided specialist competence on driveline development and safety, and PowerCell Sweden, a developer of fuel cell-based hydrogen-electric power solutions.

The infrastructure for hydrogen is still in development, which means refuelling the Volvo HX04 is an important aspect to solve in the project. Shell installed a state-of-the-art hydrogen refuelling station at the Volvo CE test track in Braås. Both Shell and Volvo Group are founding members of H2Accelearte a collaboration of companies working to foster conditions for the mass market roll-out of hydrogen trucks in Europe.

“Providing the fuelling infrastructure for this innovative project gave Shell the opportunity to demonstrate our technical capabilities in hydrogen, and enabled us to support one of our key global collaboration partners,” says Oliver Bishop, Shell’s General Manager for Hydrogen Mobility.

It takes about 7.5 minutes to fuel the Volvo HX04 12kg of hydrogen, enough for it to operates for approximately four hours. Fuel cells work by combining hydrogen with oxygen with the resulting chemical reaction producing electricity which powers the machine. In the process, fuel cells also produce heat that can be used for heating of the cab. Fuel cells only emit one thing – water vapor.

In principle, a fuel cell works much like a battery except that it generates its own electricity from the hydrogen onboard as needed rather than being charged from an external source. Vehicles with fuel cell electric powertrains have an uptime, range, and fuelling time similar to that of combustion engine powered vehicles.

While battery-electric vehicles and biofuels are commercially available today – as more sustainable alternatives to diesel – commercialisation of hydrogen-powered machines is expected during the second half of this decade. T&D

“Hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric trucks will be especially suitable for long distances and heavy, energy-demanding assignments. They could also be an option in countries where battery charging possibilities are limited,” says Alm.

A fuel cell generates its own electricity from the hydrogen onboard instead of being charged from an external source. The only biproduct emitted is water vapor.

Such vehicles are considered emissions-free if they are fuelled with “green” hydrogen, produced by using renewable energy sources, such as wind, hydro and solar.

“We expect the supply of green hydrogen to increase significantly during the next couple of years, since many industries will depend on it to reduce CO2,” Alm says.

“However, we cannot wait to decarbonise transport, we are already running late. So, my clear message to all transport companies is to start the journey today with battery electric, biogas and the other options available. The fuel cell trucks will then be an important complement for longer and heavier transports in a few years from now.”

The Volvo prototypes are equipped with fuel cells supplied by cellcentric – a joint venture between the Volvo Group and Daimler Truck AG. Cellcentric will build one of Europe’s largest series production facilities for fuel-cells, specially developed for heavy vehicles. T&D

Fuel cell electric development is also being carried out by Volvo Construction Equipment with the articulated HX04 prototype.