Danish engineering company Danfoss recently put one of its electric cargo trucks to the test on a grueling 800-mile road trip. Joined by a fleet of electric cars in what's being called the "world's biggest electric road trip," the haul was organized to help debunk myths about the range and capabilities of electric vehicles, specifically heavy-duty electric trucks.
For the road trip, the 20-ton Volvo FM electric Class 8 truck and 47 other electric vehicles departed the company's headquarters in Nordborg, Denmark, on June 12, according to Electrek.
The fleet arrived in Le Mans, France, for 24 Hours of Le Mans, an annual endurance-focused sports car race. The road trip then continued back to Denmark, ending at Danfoss HQ. Danish EV charging company GodEnergi organized the trip.
Event participants also relied on power from participating cars for their camp, including cooking food on electric grills.
"By participating in this event, we aim to prove that electric vehicles are built for endurance and can go the distance," Roy Chen, president of the Editron division at Danfoss Power Solutions, said in a statement posted to LinkedIn and quoted by Electrek.
Energy.gov details that heavy-duty trucks make up just 4% of vehicles on U.S. roads, but according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, they generate 25% of all planet-warming pollution from the transportation sector.
The transportation sector is the single largest source of the pollution heating up our planet in the U.S. Replacing diesel trucks with EVs is a crucial way the freight industry can address its crushing environmental impact.
According to the Environmental Defense Fund, less than 1% of heavy-duty vehicles used in the U.S. today are hybrid-electric or battery-electric vehicles, and less than 2% are alternative-fuel vehicles, using natural gas or propane or another fuel.
The truck is part of the company's fully electric fleet, transporting cargo between its production facilities and logistical sites. According to Volvo, the heavy-duty electric truck can travel 275 miles on a single charge. With fast charging capabilities, the truck's six-battery system charges 80% in just 90 minutes.
"48% of all trucks in Denmark drive less than 300 kilometers [about 186 miles] per day," Torben Christensen, chief sustainability officer at Danfoss, said in a press release. "Therefore, we see neither technological nor practical barriers to converting to fully electric trucks."
He added: "For a large part of the trucks, there is no reason to have range anxiety."
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