Volvo: a multi-energies approach for its trucks

The Swedish manufacturer is not banking on a single solution. Its answer is a multi-energy one, and hydrogen has its place alongside electric and gas power.

On 23 May, Volvo Group organised a forum on mobility in Brussels. The event provided an opportunity to take stock of the Group’s strategy and to make a number of announcements, including a contract with a Swiss company to purchase 1,000 electric trucks by 2030. To date, the manufacturer has already sold 5,000 battery-powered trucks in 40 countries.

Volvo Trucks‘ ambition is that 50% of its trucks sold will be electric by 2030, and it is aiming for 100% zero-emission sales by 2040. Unlike the car division, the truck division is not just banking on batteries.

A hydrogen offer before 2030 for Volvo’s truck

It is also investing in hydrogen with Daimler (the two partners have set up the company Cellcentric, which makes fuel cells for heavy goods vehicles). As for Volvo Group, tests on open roads have begun after a winter battery of tests in northern Sweden. The aim is to offer a long-haul vehicle in the second half of the decade.

The hydrogen-powered trucks will use two fuel cells to generate 300 kW.

While green hydrogen and electricity are set to be the two cornerstones, Volvo Group stresses that it is possible to decarbonise as of today by using versions of trucks powered by renewable fuels, including biogas.

Do you want to learn more about Volvo and its multi-energies policy? You can read our latest article on the group here. 

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Article written by Laurent Meillaud and translated by Logan King