Daimler, Traton and Volvo jointly invest 500 million euros in heavy vehicle EV charging network
Three of Europe’s biggest truck manufacturers - Daimler Trucks, Traton and AB Volvo plan to invest 167 million euro each ($262 million AUD/$198 million USD) in a new joint venture business to develop a Europe-wide charging network for battery electric heavy vehicles.
Daimler’s e-Actros battery-electric rigid frame truck. Image: Daimler
Three of Europe’s biggest truck manufacturers - Daimler Trucks, Traton and AB Volvo plan to invest 167 million euro each ($262 million AUD/$198 million USD) in a new joint venture business to develop a Europe-wide charging network for battery electric heavy vehicles.
The notion of electrified heavy vehicles scares many away from even discussing the transition away from polluting trucks; weight, cost, charging and range are all cited as insurmountable obstacles, and there aren’t many manufacturers with production-ready battery-electric models. Even Tesla’s much-lauded Tesla Semi is at least twelve months away.
This joint venture aims to address the issues of range anxiety and charging; according to Martin Daum, chief executive of Daimler Trucks, "The key ingredient in the future rolling-out of electric vehicles will be the infrastructure. It will be the big bottleneck"
The European Car Industry Association (ACEA) wants 50,000 heavy vehicle charge points across Europe by 2030, warning that a dense network of recharging sites in all EU member states is crucial to making road freight carbon neutral by 2050.
All three companies currently have electric trucks in development and are aiming for the joint venture company to be operational by 2022. The company will be headquartered in Amsterdam and lists an initial objective of installing 1,700 charging points within five years.
With time, it’s expected that other manufacturers will join the new joint venture. "In order to accelerate further, we need additional partners, additional networks, and public funds," AB Volvo CEO Martin Lundstedt said. "We will continue to be very fierce competitors. But we need a new platform to compete upon."
The ACEA is also a proponent of hydrogen fuel cell-powered transport and is working to set a target of installing 300 hydrogen refueling stations in the EU by 2025. Daimler, Toyota, Volvo, and Hyunda are among legacy automakers investing in fuel cell technology, and Hyundai is currently operating Xcient hydrogen fuel cell rigid body trucks in Switzerland.
Source: Reuters
Daimler has a diverse portfolio of brands, including Fuso and Freightliner. Image: Daimler
