SCA’s new electric timber truck with a crane has now been premiered to a wide audience at the Elmia Lastbil fair. The truck, a collaborative project between SCA and Scania, will be the first electric timber truck in the world to collect timber in the forest for further transport to a timber terminal. Source: Timberbiz, Photo: Anton Ahlinder and Jonas Muhr/SCA
“With the new truck, SCA takes the next step in sustainable timber transport. The truck has received a lot of positive feedback at Elmia,” said Anton Ahlinder, business developer at SCA Skog.
Just over two years after SCA and Scania’s first electric timber truck was put into operation in Umeå, it’s time for the next big step in the work to electrify heavy transport in forestry. Unlike the truck in Umeå, which runs between a timber terminal and SCA’s paper mill in Obbola, the new electric timber truck is equipped with a crane and tandem drive so that it can load timber in the forest and transport it to a timber terminal.
“We expect the truck to be in operation at the beginning of October. According to our calculations, it should have a range of just over 200 kilometres, although Scania’s calculations say 320 kilometres. Much depends on how much electricity it takes to operate the crane. We will test and see what works best,” Mr Ahlinder said.
Rolf Lövgren Åkeri & Entreprenad AB owns the truck and will operate it with support from SCA. Rolf currently has two trucks and a total of five drivers, and he did not hesitate when asked by SCA to own and operate the truck.
“No, I’d rather be first than last! That way, I get to be involved in the development. I haven’t actually seen the truck yet, as I couldn’t attend Elmia, but I’m looking forward to getting started and I think this will work well. I’m excited,” Mr Lövgren Åkeri said.
“The truck will operate here in the Östavall area. Initially, I will be driving it, but then it will run in shifts, and by then I hope to find two more drivers.”
The new electric timber truck is part of the forestry industry’s innovation project TREE, which aims for half of the forestry industry’s new trucks to be electric by 2030.
“It’s exciting to be part of this important work and to contribute to a more sustainable society. When the truck is in operation, we expect it to result in 170 tons lower carbon dioxide emissions per year compared to a regular timber truck. All the attention and cheers we, Scania, and the truck received at Elmia, and also via LinkedIn, show that this is an important issue for many,” said Mr Ahlinder.
“The fact that Infrastructure Minister Andreas Carlson came to see the truck was especially enjoyable. We managed to convey some requests, such as the need to allow higher vehicle weights and more flexible driving and rest times to facilitate electric vehicles. If the industry is to make a significant investment in electrification, we need the right support and reasonable conditions. For example, it’s not good if a driver has to stop for a break when there’s only fifteen minutes left to the charging station.”
A significant investment in charging stations is also required for a substantial electrification of the forestry truck fleet to become a reality.
“In the area where our new electric timber truck will operate, there will be four available charging stations, which reduces the risk of downtime. But if we are to have more electric timber trucks, many more charging stations are needed,” Mr Ahlinder added.
