SCA together with Scania Trucks has developed the world’s first electric timber truck with a capacity of 80 tonnes. SCA’s goal is to make the entire value chain fossil-free. Source: Timberbiz
“We have come a long way in industrial processes, which are already 96% fossil-free. We are very pleased that we together with Scania can break new ground to make the heaviest transports fossil-free,” said Hans Djurberg, Head of Sustainability at SCA.
The world’s first electric timber truck with a capacity of 80 tonnes has been delivered to SCA. The vehicle solution developed by Scania in close collaboration with SCA and the research institute Skogforsk, is part of the transition to sustainable transport.
“The 80-tonne battery-powered timber truck shows that even really heavy transport can be electrified. The partnership with SCA, is a early show of what is possible, is a clear signal that it is possible to electrify even heavy transport. A change of pace is needed to make Sweden fossil-free in time and meet the goal of the Paris Agreement,” said Fredrik Allard, Head of E-mobility at Scania.
“An electric timber truck is a symbol of something pretty cool. Shipping of timber has been talked about as something that might never be possible to electrify. The development in recent years and what we are now presenting together with SCA shows how fast the development is taking place both in terms of vehicles and batteries,” said Mr Allard.
The intention is that the vehicle will transport timber on the stretch between SCA’s timber terminal in Gimonäs and the paper mill in Obbola outside Umeå. The new electric timber truck represents another innovative step on the journey towards a fossil-free society and can be driven with a total weight of 64 tonnes on public roads and 80 tonnes on private roads.
SCA Obbola’s paper mill currently has a virtually fossil-free production process and the intention of the new vehicle is to reduce the fossil elements in the transport chain of raw material to the mill.
The electric timber truck will be test-driven during the summer and continuously studied by the research institute Skogforsk to collect relevant data that can form the basis for comparisons with conventional diesel-powered timber transports.
After that, the plan is for it to be included in SCA’s regular operations.
“This is a first concrete step towards electric propulsion in the most difficult part of the land borne transport chain, which is extremely important. This is a global challenge that many have wrestled with and now we are showing together with an innovative partner, Scania, that Swedish industry can drive sustainability development,” said Mr Djurberg.
“Sustainability and reduced carbon dioxide emissions are important for society as a whole, which means that the business is also dependent on us driving development. Our forests and forest products have created enormous climate benefits for a long period of time and our industries are very climate-efficient, which is why it is also obvious with high climate ambitions for our transports.”
The studies carried out during the northern summer will, among other things, compare energy consumption, productivity and costs against existing vehicles and map out what would be required for a broad implementation of electric timber trucks across the country.
Jörgen Bendz, Industrial Supply Manager at SCA, notes that the ability to electrify the heaviest transports has great potential for the company’s sustainability work.
“We have worked hard and successfully towards fossil-free energy in our industries and we also have a significant part of our transports by rail, so we have been very keen to find a fossil-free solution for the heavy transport with raw material that goes to the industry by truck. We hope and believe that electric timber trucks over time can become the key to solving this challenge,” said Mr Bendz.
