The world’s first fully electric logging truck, equipped with a working crane, is now on road- with the multi-year Swedish project a major step towards decarbonising the carbon-intensive forest-to-terminal transport process.
Wood Central understands that the new 80-tonne vehicle has been rolled out after years of collaboration between Scania, one of the world’s leading truck and bus manufacturers, and SCA, Europe’s largest private logging company – which is now pushing to make the total supply chain for timber products fossil-free.
“This is an important project for us to continue contributing to a more sustainable society,” according to Ulf Larsson, the CEO of SCA. “By managing the forest and making renewable products that can replace those with a high carbon footprint, SCA creates about 13 million tons of positive climate benefits each year. That figure can improve as we transition the heavy road transports in our value chain.”
“We need price pressure on the vehicles, more charging infrastructure, a better power grid, and that working time regulations offer flexibility related to charging. Only then will heavy traffic gradually move towards more electrification.”
Ulf Larsson, the CEO of SCA Skog, on the challenges around fully electrifying the harvest and haulage process for forest products.
According to Anton Ahlinder, SCA Skog’s Head of Business Development, the new truck follows in the footsteps of an earlier model that has, for two years, successfully hauled logs between a terminal and SCA’s Obbola paper mill.
For Mr Ahlinder, the new truck is “a game changer.” Fully equipped with a crane and a tandem drive, it collects timber in the forest and transports it to terminals.
“Our estimates suggest a range of just over 200 kilometres, although Scania projects it could go up to 320 kilometres. A lot will depend on the crane’s energy consumption, but we’ll test it and find out what works best.”
The push to electrify the logging process comes as global governments crack down on road freight-related transport emissions, which now account for up to 83% of all transport emissions and, in many instances, make timber transport (over water) greener than road-based transport.
A key cog in the TREE project, a Swedish-led initiative targeting 50% of the forestry industry’s new trucks to be fully electric by 2030, the new trucks could result in a 170-ton drop in emissions per truck.
“Our new electric timber truck has a better range and will drive to timber storage areas in the forest, where it loads the timber for further transport to one of our timber terminals.”
Mr Ahlinder said the TREE project is about much more than just a single truck—it’s about setting a new standard for sustainable forestry, adding that “support and enthusiasm from industry leaders and the general public, including Infrastructure Minister Andreas Carlson, underscore just how important this work is.”
The breakthrough came just months after Wood Central reported that Swedish scientists had designed the world’s first unmanned machine for autonomous forestry operations—a major breakthrough in the push towards a fully automated forest management and production process.
Facts and figures
- By running just one electric truck between Gimonäs and Obbola, SCA can reduce our carbon emissions by about 55,000 kg per year.
- The new truck can run six turns per day Gimonäs wood terminal- Obbola paper mill, Monday-Friday 07:00-17:00
- Distance: 30 km round-trip
- Time: 75 minutes per trip (both loading and unloading)
- The truck is loaded with an ABB charger of 180 Kw at the Obbola paper mill.
Please Note: The project is part of a national initiative in which leading Swedish players have joined forces to accelerate the transition to electrified emission-free heavy transport on our roads. The initiative, led by CLOSER, receives co-financing from the Vehicle Strategic Research and Innovation (FFI) program through Vinnova, the Swedish Energy Agency, and the Swedish Transport Administration.
