More and more logistics companies are starting to electrify their haulage operations. A shift is underway as more and more customers demand fossil-free transport and the Swedish government is investing huge sums to accelerate the roll-out of public charging stations for heavy goods vehicles. ABB’s powerful chargers and robust distribution centres make the journey easy for players who want to keep up.
Now charging for heavy vehicles
For: Industry Hardback
By 2045, all operations at industrial wholesaler Ahlsell will be fossil-free. To achieve this goal, they need to address freight transport, which accounts for almost half of the company’s carbon footprint.
That’s why in 2022 they started a pilot project with ABB.
“Together with ABB, we are working on several important sustainability issues, and as we electrify freight transport, ABB’s high-power chargers and distribution centres play an important role. Electrified transport is a must if we at Ahlsell are to achieve our goal of becoming fossil-free, and it is important for us to carry out concrete tests in the real world. And the trial that we have done at our large warehouse in Hallsberg together with ABB has really worked well.”
– says Gunilla Sandström, Environment and Sustainability Manager at Ahlsell.
More people are electrifying their transport
And Ahlsell is not alone. ABB has recently collaborated with a number of logistics companies on the electrification of heavy transport.
In addition, the company is participating in a major initiative by online retailer Apotea in the field of electrified transport in connection with Einride, where ABB is providing charging solutions.
Einride electric cars provide round-the-clock shuttle service from Apotea’s warehouse in Morgongåva outside Uppsala and parcel terminals in the Stockholm area. As a result, some of Apotea’s grid customers will be able to choose the “zero emission delivery” option if they so wish.
The trend is now so fast that some e-financiers have even started to say no to logistics companies that have too many fossils in their transport.
“If there is the same rapid turnover as happened on the passenger car side, the market will really explode. Which is of course particularly exciting for us at ABB, who have the powerful high-power chargers, robust distribution centres and technology to meet the charging demands of heavy transport.”
– says John Engdahl, Product Manager e-mobility at ABB Sweden.
Powerful and proven charging solutions required
An important incentive for the electrification of freight transport in Sweden is the new government support for the construction of charging-friendly roadside infrastructure. Investments in regional pilot projects for electrification amount to SEK 1543 million and the charging stations that receive support this spring will be ready by autumn 2023.
“This is a huge investment that the government is now making and will really speed up the expansion of charging infrastructure for regional transport. To achieve this, high-power charging solutions that can withstand continuous operation for a long time are needed, such as our Terra HP high-power charger.”
– says John Engdahl.
For: Industry Hardback
