Enercluster brought together more than fifty professionals at Naitec’s headquarters yesterday to discuss the challenges posed by the electrification of heavy road transport, which is key to achieving the decarbonisation targets set for 2030. The conclusion after the conference is clear: technological advances have been incredible in recent years, but the speed of the transition from diesel to electric will be determined by the economic viability of the projects.
Technology is ready
‘Ten years ago a journey like this was unthinkable. In the last four years, vehicle range has doubled and recharging time has decreased significantly. Imagine where we will be in four years‘ time’. These are the words of
Jorge Ríos, CEO of Etecnic, a company specialising in 360º service for charging point installations, the dizzying evolution of battery technology for trucks and electric chargers, as well as the increase in the number of charging points installed. Along the same lines, Laura Marcos, key account manager at Ingeteam, a manufacturer of charging points, explained that a few years ago, talking about chargers for trucks was unthinkable, but today they are a reality and chargers with more than 1 MW of power are already being designed’. As for the availability of electric models, it was commented that it is increasing, although there will not only be electric solutions, as Sergio Jerónimo Miranda, eMobility Expert of the manufacturer MAN Truck & Bus, recalled, ‘the decarbonisation of transport is an ambitious objective that will require a mix of technological solutions, among which the electric vehicle stands out as the main one’.
Sustainable… and economically viable projects
One of the most talked about aspects during the event was the profitability of this type of truck. Javier Avello, Commercial and Strategic Projects Director of the Lodisna Group, explained that ‘introducing an electric truck is an operational and economic challenge that must be approached in a completely different way to how we would do it with a diesel. We have to use a project perspective and evaluate a number of variables that are not taken into account when approaching a diesel truck’. Avello explained Lodisna’s experience operating the two electric tractors in its fleet, one of which has been in production for a year and a half. ‘The key is to plan the operation very well to maximise mileage and performance,’ he said.
A great advantage of electric vehicles is the price of electricity and that, as Miranda reminded, ‘agreements can be reached for a fixed price of electricity for months, which ensures that there is no variation in the price of the energy needed, something that can happen in a diesel truck’. Ríos highlighted Spain’s privileged position with a large amount of very cheap renewable energy, ‘we have a great opportunity to combine electric mobility with self-consumption and energy communities’, declared the CEO of Etecnic.
Navarre is, along with Madrid and Barcelona, one of the areas where electric mobility is advancing most strongly. In this regard, the speakers highlighted the opportunities presented in a sector as important as heavy road transport, which despite being much smaller in terms of units than passenger cars, ‘could reach up to 33% of the turnover in electric mobility due to its high energy consumption’.
All the speakers agreed that this process is unstoppable because the objectives have already been set but that, in order to be successful, it must be profitable. The key, the experts commented, is to encourage demand for decarbonisation solutions for logistics operations from end customers and this will only be achieved if business is positive for all parties.
