For the first time, Norway has used a semi electric truck with 1,000 kWh battery capacity to clear heavy snow on challenging mountain passes.
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration has been trialing the electric truck as a snow plow on the E6 highway, right over the scenic yet challenging Dovrefjell mountain range. It cleared a hefty snow dump this week, so they’re feeling pretty upbeat about using EVs to keep the winter roads in check.
Bjørn Laksforsmo, divisional director at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, said, “If we are to achieve the climate targets, we must have strong emission cuts also on the heaviest tasks we do on the roads today. That’s why we wanted to test plowing with an electric truck on the E6 over Dovrefjell.”
After a week, the electric truck’s stats are looking good. Despite a long day battling light to heavy snow, gusty winds, and below-freezing temps, the truck’s battery only dipped from 90% to 28%. That’s after almost nine hours on the road, using up 182 KWh per 100 km.
The pilot isn’t just about how long the truck can run; it’s also testing how it handles harsh weather, how much energy it uses under different conditions, and figuring out the best ways to charge it.
The semi being tested at Dovrefjell is the world’s first electric truck with a 1000 kWh battery. Swiss firm Designwerk Technologies AG built the electric truck using a Volvo FH chassis. It has a range of 97 km (60 miles) with a 50-ton load. The total weight is 21.6 t.
The trial run on the E6 Dovrefjell is just part of Norway’s bigger plan to see how electric plows can take on the winter. This is its second stab at it – the first was in 2021, when an electric wheel loader was used to plow pedestrian and cycle paths in Trondheim, but the battery capacity wasn’t up to snuff.
The Swedish Road Administration also gets in on the action, testing zero-emission plowing in some areas. In Sandefjord, electric plow trucks are already a regular sight, as they’re working well.
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