From Denmark to Le Mans with 48 electric cars and an electric truck
The truck travelling the course is owned by the Danish engineering group Danfoss. The 17-metre-long Volvo FH Electric was part of what the organizers described as the “world’s biggest electric drive”. The truck, which also features numerous Danfoss components, was sent on the tour “to illustrate the potential of the electrification and decarbonization of heavy goods transport and the numerous technological solutions that already exist today”. The truck is normally used for internal operations, transporting freight between production sites and logistics locations.
The tour started on June 12 at the Danfoss headquarters in Nordborg, Denmark. The first leg of the journey took them across Germany to the Netherlands. After an overnight stay, the convoy drove through Belgium to France – and back along the same route after the 24-hour race last weekend. In addition to the truck, cars such as a Porsche Taycan, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Tesla Model Y and Skoda Enyaq were also part of the tour.
Danfoss points out that 48 per cent of all trucks in Denmark today drive less than 300 kilometres – in the EU, 62 per cent of all heavy truck journeys are on routes shorter than 400 kilometres. “Therefore, we see neither technological nor practical barriers to converting to fully electric trucks. To ensure the best possible productivity, the charging infrastructure should primarily be established at locations such as freight terminals, so that loading time is equal to charging time,” says Torben Christensen, Chief Sustainability Officer at Danfoss. “We are sending one of our eight electric trucks to Le Mans to prove that it is possible to cover longer distances already today. In other words, for a large part of the trucks, there is no reason to have range anxiety.”
“We are 115 participants in this road trip who love motorsport and cars, and at the same time want to prove that it is possible to cover long distances in electric vehicles. The technology and the opportunities are there,” says Jan Darville, CEO of GodEnergi.
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