2023-12-15 13:29:43
This article was originally published in English
The Swedish manufacturer Scania has developed a transport trailer equipped with solar panels which might help to decarbonise road transport.
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Transport in Europe represents around 25% of the continent’s CO2 emissions. A significant part of them comes from heavy goods transport vehicles.
While we cannot do without the delivery of goods, unless we want empty stores and supermarkets, a question arises: how can we reduce the environmental impact of this mode of transport?
Euronews Green spoke to Swedish manufacturer Scania to find out more regarding its efforts to solve this problem.
Decarbonize the rolling fleet
A truck produced today is expected to have a lifespan of between 15 and 20 years, which means that there are a lot of old trucks on the road in Europe. It would be almost impossible and impractical, for various reasons, to remove all of these vehicles from the road and replace them with the latest and most efficient models.
“We are exploring all kinds of options and trucks to solar energy were one of them,” explains to Euronews, Eric Falkgrim, head of technology for vehicle design at Scania. “For my part, I mainly thought regarding trucks battery electric that we have today; Ten or fifteen years ago they were too expensive, but with energy density increasing and costs falling, all of a sudden it became interesting,” he continues.
“The idea was the same for solar energy: if efficiency increases and costs continue to fall“It’s going to be worth it at some point and that’s what we’re trying to explore,” assures the representative of the Swedish manufacturer.
How does a solar hybrid truck work?
Thus, Scania, in partnership with Uppsala University, has developed a trailer covered with solar panels.
The advantage is that it can be connected to a hybrid tractor and act as an additional battery. It can store around 200 kilowatt hours of electricity, around three times more than the tractor.
“Also, you can benefit from dynamic charging – if the sun is out – and you charge while you drive, which is a big advantage of having the panels on the truck rather than on the side of the road. the road,” explains Eric Falkgrim.
What his team is still trying to perfect, and which will make his model unique, is making the trailer covered in solar panels serve as an independently powered electric vehicle. This means it might be hooked up to an old combustion tractor as well as a modern hybrid tractor.
Preliminary data from the trial of a solar trailer combined with a tractor with a combustion engine suggests that it might reduce the fuel consumption by around 40%.
When will we see hybrid solar trucks on the roads?
Solar trucks hybrids are currently being tested on the roads of Sweden and will be tested until 2024.
It may seem strange to test a product solar powered in a country with very little sunshine in winter, but Eric Falkgrim explains that “the idea was that if it works in Swedenit will work everywhere”.
“And if you go to Spain or Australia or somewhere else where the weather is a lot nicer, you’re obviously going to get a lot more benefit from the truck itself,” he added.
One of the main challenges of this process, he said, was finding suitable solar panels. “Most panels are designed for homes and to be placed on static buildings,“ he explains.
“By being placed on a vehicle, the problem is that they are exposed to dirt, dust, even branches which can scratch their surface,” explains the technology manager before adding: “There are also the vibrations created by the rolling trucks.”
“The panels we used are therefore very light, very strong and very durable,” he describes. “But in addition to this, it is also necessary to provide safety devices which, in the event of an accident, do not create a short circuit with the panels so that the emergency services are not exposed to high voltages,” he insists. “I think these elements must be taken into account for scaling this type of technology,” he concludes.
Watch the video above to learn more regarding the world’s first solar hybrid truck.
Video editor • Joanna Cold
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