Up to 800 km driving range and refuelling at any petrol station: Scania and DHL test an electric truck with a petrol generator.
Scania and the DHL Group have unveiled an experimental electric truck with a petrol generator - the Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV). This model is designed for long-haul routes where charging infrastructure is not yet well developed.
Here's What We Know
Formally, this truck is an electric vehicle, as it is powered by an electric engine with an output of 230 kW (peak - 295 kW). However, in fact it is a hybrid: the vehicle has a 416 kWh battery, but instead of an additional battery it is equipped with a 120 kW generator. It will initially run on petrol, later on diesel or HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil).
This generator extends the range to 800 kilometres, which is more than the 550 kilometres of Scania's all-electric trucks of similar weight. If necessary, the EREV can be refuelled at a regular petrol station.
The truck's dimensions are 10.5 metres, with a maximum weight of 40 tonnes and a payload of around 1,000 parcels. It is also possible to tow a trailer with an additional container. The maximum speed is 89 km/h.
Despite all this, the EREV is not exactly an innovation. Scania has already experimented with hybrid trucks, but they were deemed futile because the EU does not recognise hybrids as 'zero-emission' vehicles. So now the same concept has been presented under a new name: the petrol generator is not the main power source, but an 'auxiliary' one, which circumvents regulatory restrictions.
Where will the tests take place?
An electric truck with EREV technology will start operating in February on the Berlin-Hamburg route in Germany to transport parcels as part of Post Parcel Germany. If the trials are successful, DHL plans to expand its fleet.
Source: Scania
