Volvo Trucks launches charging map for electric trucks of all brands
Focussing on Sweden first, Volvo Trucks’ new service is available to trucks of any brand. It follows a simple principle that drivers of electric cars will know from services such as ZapMap. The Volvo service displays all charging stations suitable for heavy-duty vehicles, regardless of the operator (or truck).
The charging service is part of Volvo Trucks’ digital services. The customer can find locations via Volvo Connect and a mobile app and see if charging points are available. Billing is also possible, and Volvo says reserving charging slots will be possible in “the near future”.
“Customers will be able to obtain reliable information about where to find charging stations for heavy electric trucks, and they can be assured that they are paying a fair market price with no hidden fees,” says Roger Alm, President of Volvo Trucks.
The company adds that it was working closely with charge point operators around the world to expand the charging network and the service “as seamlessly and quickly as possible”. A more detailed timeline has yet to come.
Europe-wide, Volvo is a founding member of Milence, alongside Daimler Truck and Traton. They want to build a charging network for trucks and coaches in Europe. Half a billion euros is being put towards truck charging stops in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Norway, and Sweden.
At the same time, Volvo Trucks, in its home market, appears to base its current advance on the national network for electric trucks announced in January 2023 by the founding consortium comprising Nimbnet, a Swedish CPO, Finnish hardware manufacturer Kempower, and service provider Virta, also from Finland.
In today’s news, Volvo Trucks revealed it was one of the companies involved, also referring to different companies acting as operators.
Kempower makes the charging columns in the Swedish truck network with up to 350 kW of continuous power while Nimbnet will act as main operator. The company already has a system to help truck companies plan reliable delivery routes including charge stops.
Compared to the usual HPC stations for electric cars, the new sites shall accommodate even the “longest heavy trucks”.
Volvo Trucks says the first phase now underway involves 29 charging stations operated by pit stop company OKQ8 and Öresundkraft for renewable energy.
“This is a real breakthrough for the electrification of heavy transport,” Alm concluded.
0 Comments