DHL: It will take time before the conditions are created for a complete switch to battery-electric trucks
DHL Group and commercial vehicle manufacturer Scania have jointly developed an electric truck with a fuel-powered generator for longer ranges and better energy reserves.
This makes it possible to switch to battery-powered heavy road vehicles without having to wait for a full charging infrastructure. While all-electric vehicles are the ultimate solution for a sustainable transport system, the shift to electric vehicles needs to be accelerated even faster. Currently, however, the rapid electrification of heavy-duty transport is failing due to several factors, including a lack of charging points, high costs for maintaining sufficient charging capacity in the depots at seasonal peak times, grid load and high electricity prices, for example on windless winter days. The “Extended Range Electric Vehicle” (EREV) from DHL and Scania offers a solution here. The electric truck with range extender helps to overcome these obstacles and can run on 80 to 90 percent renewable energy.
Starting in February, the new electric truck will be used in the Post & Parcel Germany division for parcel transport between Berlin and Hamburg, where it will be intensively tested for several months before additional vehicles may be purchased for DHL’s own fleet. The fuel-powered generator replaces one of the batteries in an all-electric truck, which is not needed for most routes. This reduces the range in battery mode, but provides an energy reserve for the scenarios mentioned. The vehicle thus has a range of 650 to 800 kilometres (depending on the results of the test operation in Berlin) and can be refuelled at any conventional petrol station if required. By comparison, Scania’s most modern and industry-leading all-electric trucks have a range of 550 kilometres with the same maximum weight.
Tobias Meyer, CEO of DHL Group: “It will take some time before the necessary conditions are created for a complete switch to battery-electric trucks, especially in a system as large as the German DHL parcel network – through a sufficiently robust power grid, a reliable green power supply and a nationwide charging infrastructure. Instead of waiting for this, DHL and Scania are working together on a pragmatic solution that enables more sustainable logistics and reduces CO2e emissions by more than 80 percent. As a sensible, practical technology, this vehicle concept can make a direct contribution to the short-term reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in freight transport. Such emission reductions should be reflected in the EU’s road user charges and CO2 fleet limits. We see this cooperation as an example of a successful innovation project by two companies that are committed to actively contributing to climate protection.”
The EREV was developed by Scania Pilot Partner, which is researching new technologies and solutions, in this case together with strategic partner DHL. Electric vehicles with range extenders are a promising transitional solution that enables a significant reduction in CO₂e emissions, especially where the necessary infrastructure is lacking and other conditions for a switch to all-electric vehicles are not met. The EU and countries should endorse this approach and promote it by taking due account of realistic emission intensity and reducing road charging.
Christian Levin, CEO Scania: “The future is electric, but on the way to this future, the perfect must not be the enemy of the good. The vehicle we developed together with DHL is an example of possible transitional solutions that can further advance the decarbonization of truck traffic until the transport system is fully electrified. An effective climate transition requires that such solutions meet with political acceptance and are supported by increased investment in the expansion of public infrastructure and the creation of the necessary framework conditions.”
The EREV is a 10.5-metre-long truck with a gross vehicle weight of 40 tonnes, which is powered by a 230 kW electric motor (295 kW peak). The energy comes from a 416 kW/h battery and a fuel-powered 120 KW generator. This – which is initially powered by gasoline and later by renewable diesel / HVO – increases the truck’s range to up to 800 kilometers. EREVs can be equipped with software that restricts the use of the fuel-powered generator. This can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit them to a certain level. The truck’s top speed is 89 km/h, with a capacity of around 1,000 parcels (volume of a swap body). In addition, the truck can tow a trailer with another swap body. The vehicle is to be used in the so-called “main run” for parcel transport between Berlin and Hamburg.
Deutsche Post AG and Scania CV AB applied for a patent on this technology at the German Patent and Trademark Office in Munich on September 19, 2024.
