Volvo Begins Test Of Electric Construction Trucks

Volvo Trucks announced that this month, it will start live tests of a fully electric transport solution for the construction industry. Two heavy duty trucks will be delivered to customer Swerock in order to meet the growing demands for less noise and emissions – especially in sensitive urban areas.

After the introduction of serial produced electric trucks for urban transport and refuse collection, Volvo Trucks is now deploying two fully electric construction trucks along with charging solutions, to be tested in real customer operations.

“Trucks in the construction segment typically require more power and robustness than many other segments, and electric trucks are no exception,” said Jonas Odermalm, vice president Electromobility at Volvo Trucks. “Our commercial solutions need to meet the demands for high productivity and uptime, while delivering on the benefits of reduced emissions and less noise that comes with a full electric driveline. Field tests and customer collaborations are important to the development process.”

As part of the tests, an electric Volvo FM truck equipped with a mixer will deliver concrete to customers. In addition, an electric Volvo FMX truck fitted with a hooklift will be used in larger infrastructure projects.

The project will evaluate how electric trucks can be used to increase efficiency and reduce climate impact. Apart from analyzing the performance of the vehicles themselves, Volvo said the tests will also look at the overall electromobility ecosystem, to help find charging opportunities in line with the demands on productivity. The benefits of electric vehicles for urban environments will be measured in terms of quieter transport, onsite safety and driver comfort.

“These type of tests are valuable for helping us to better understand the customers operations and how electrification would impact them on a day-to-day basis in terms of driving cycles, load capacity, uptime, range and other parameters – and with all the benefits of using quieter, cleaner transport,” said Ebba Bergbom Wallin, Electromobility business manager at Volvo Trucks.

The testing of the two electric trucks in real operations will provide the opportunity to evaluate how they will be used, and highlight the potential improvements required before broader adaptation is possible.

“Together with Volvo Trucks we are taking a big step towards climate smart transportation,” said Hans Orest, division manager at Swerock and part of the PEAB Group. “This will bring us significantly closer to the trucks of tomorrow that will reduce fossil emissions. We already have 15 hybrid concrete mixer trucks and through this project we are now testing vehicles that run completely on electricity.”