Austrian Post has put two Volvo FM Electric trucks into operation for the first time to transport international shipments between the Vienna-Inzersdorf logistics center and Vienna-Schwechat Airport. Two fast-charging stations for the trucks have also been installed at the Inzersdorf site and only green electricity from Austria is used for charging.
“With the use of the two e-trucks, we are on the road electrically for the first time in transport logistics,” explained Peter Umundum, chief parcel and logistics officer at Österreichische Post AG. “By using the new e-trucks and green electricity, we can replace two diesel vehicles and thus save around 117 tons of direct CO2 emissions per year. We are thus taking a first step into the future of transport logistics, while at the same time remaining open to new technologies, such as the use of green hydrogen or e-fuels on longer routes.”
To ensure the viability of e-trucks for logistics operations, Austrian Post and the Council for Sustainable Logistics carried out a one-month practical test of an e-truck, which found that a shuttle service between the logistics center and the airport was the optimal application for the technology.
The FM Electric has a battery capacity of 540kWh, enabling a range of up to 300km, and the battery can be fully charged in two-and-a-half hours with the help of Alpitronic’s Hypercharger. The vehicle is powered by three electric motors with I-Shift transmission, which enable a continuous output of up to 490kW and a total towing weight of up to 44 tons.
The total investment costs for the two electric vehicles, including the charging infrastructure, amount to just under €1m (US$1.07m).