DB Schenker: The electrification of heavy vehicles plays a crucial role in our transition to carbon-neutral transport
DB Schenker is continuing to drive forward the use of fully electric trucks and is the first company in Sweden to start testing the R 450e electric truck from Scania in regular long-distance transport. The approximately 300-kilometer drive from Jönköping to Södertälje takes around three hours.
Anna Hagberg, Head of Network & Scheduled Services at DB Schenker: “For DB Schenker, the purpose is to test and gain experience of fully electric heavy vehicles in long-distance regular traffic. The electrification of heavy vehicles plays a crucial role in our transition to carbon-neutral transport and, since heavy traffic accounts for the largest emissions for us, it is incredibly important.”
While smaller e-trucks are already frequently used on short-haul routes, for example in distribution transport in cities, the use of zero-emission commercial vehicles with heavy loads is still a challenge. Long distances with heavy loads place high demands on the trucks and the charging infrastructure.
The E-Charge project brings together fourteen partners who are jointly developing and testing battery-electric long-distance transportation. The tests are carried out in real truck operations in Sweden and are adapted to the drivers’ driving and rest times. After three years of preparation and research in the E-Charge project, DB Schenker is now starting to test the e-truck in daily long-distance transport operations.
As part of the E-Charge project, the fully electric truck will replace a diesel-powered truck. The truck will transport goods between the terminals in Jönköping and Södertälje in the evening and at night and distribute them to customers during the day.
The seven batteries in Scania’s R 450e have a capacity of 728 kilowatt hours. The number of batteries has been increased in order to be able to cover approximately 300 kilometers without intermediate charging in Nordic weather conditions with a gross vehicle weight of 64 metric tons and a length of 24 meters. The R 450e truck is the first battery-electric long-haul truck from Scania with this driving range. The truck is charged with ABB E-mobile’s high-power chargers at DB Schenker’s terminals.
The E-Charge project
The E-Charge project brings together fourteen partners from the fields of vehicle construction, science, logistics, electricity and fuel to jointly develop and test battery-electric long-distance transportation. Cross-sector cooperation and development is of particular importance in the project. The aim is to conduct research in virtually all areas related to the challenges of the project: from the energy consumption of the vehicles to the dimensioning of the chargers and charging stations and the impact on the power grid to the effects on transportation and logistics.
