The world's first solar-powered hybrid truck is being tested on public roads in Sweden

[DragonSlayer101]

What just happened? Swedish truck maker Scania last week unveiled a unique hybrid solar-powered truck. The vehicle is now being tested on public roads in Sweden as part of a two-year research collaboration between Scania, Uppsala University, Eksjö Maskin & Truck, Midsummer, Ernsts Express, and Dalakraft.

In a press release, the company said that the plug-in hybrid truck has a 560hp motor, and comes with an 18m trailer covered in new lightweight tandem solar panels, which generate the vehicle's electrical propulsion. More than 100sq m of space on the trailer is covered by the solar panels that include Midsummer's new perovskite solar cells, which are said to generate twice as much energy as traditional solar cells. Scania is claiming that this is the first time a truck of this size is being powered by electricity generated from solar panels.

The truck is part of a research project that's aiming to develop solar-powered trucks with low climate impact and is partly funded by the Swedish government agency for innovation, Vinnova. Towards that end, it will help researchers study the impact of renewable energy vehicles on the environment and how they can reduce overall carbon emissions in the transportation sector.

According to Scania, the solar cells in the truck produce a maximum efficiency of 13.2 kWp (kilowatt peak). For those wondering, the vehicle carries a total of 300kWh of batteries on board, including 100kWh on the truck and 200kWh in the trailer. Scania claims that the solar energy generated by these panels can account for up to 5,000km of range annually in Sweden, but in sunnier countries like Spain, that could even double to around 10,000km.

Asked why the project is focused on Sweden despite the fact that the country is not known for round-the-year sunshine, Eric Falkgrim, a technology leader at Scania's Research and Innovation department and the Project Manager for the solar-powered truck, said that the company specifically wanted to see the viability of such a project in the less sunny and somewhat darker conditions in Scandinavia.

The use of solar energy in automobiles is still a long way away from becoming mainstream, but if it does happen, it is expected to significantly decrease automobile emissions. As of today, the vast majority of vehicles on our roads come with internal combustion engines that use fossil fuels to generate power. Even EVs derive electricity from conventional sources, which often include thermal power that comes from burning coal. In addition to saving the environment, electrification from renewable energy could also greatly reduce fuel costs, which have increased steadily in recent years.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/100049-world-first-solar-powered-hybrid-truck-tested-public.html

 

[m4a4]

Heh, more like solar-assisted.

Looks like that is about 5% if they drive 100,000km annually (a conservative number based on what I was seeing online).
And there's no breakdown on how they got the 5k number. Does that account for poor weather? Dirty panels? Sun angle? Time of year?

 

[ScottSoapbox]

So *up to* 3,100 miles “saved” a year for the low cost of 1,076 sq ft of cutting-edge solar cells.

I wonder how many years for that to break even.

 

[netman]

"Asked why the project is focused on Sweden despite the fact that the country is not known for round-the-year sunshine, Eric Falkgrim, a technology leader at Scania's Research and Innovation department and the Project Manager for the solar-powered truck, said that the company specifically wanted to see the viability of such a project in the less sunny and somewhat darker conditions in Scandinavia."

Why?! Because, Sweden wants to sell the truck to the sunshine countries for huge profit...!

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

This is probably a waste of money, they're much better off generating energy from solar in fixed locations. In fact I imagine the only way solar will make any sense located directly on a form of transportation is with an electric boat, especially something confined to a lake or local areas. This is especially true when the utilization is sporadic instead of frequent and cruising speeds and distances are pretty low. In that situation, all the math works out. In any other situation, you'll have to plug in somewhere no matter what or rely on fossil fuels (which means you lose out on cost benefits of going fully electric while adding complexity and cost).

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

Heh, more like solar-assisted.

Looks like that is about 5% if they drive 100,000km annually (a conservative number based on what I was seeing online).
And there's no breakdown on how they got the 5k number. Does that account for poor weather? Dirty panels? Sun angle? Time of year?

And most importantly, how much of a load does this apply to? If they really wanted to be honest, they would tell us the amount of fuel saved/offset by adding solar panels to the same hybrid truck. That accounts for all conditions.

 

[MakeMSGreatAgain]

A good chunk of resources and materials go into making this... may be a while before it is actually affordable. Most companies are only concerned about the bottom line and if diesel trucks are half the cost this may not really take off. I'm all for new tech, and this is cool, but there are many challenges ahead for a successful product. I also wonder about the sturdiness of these panels as I imagine some will get damaged from rocks and other road debris.

If the green peace movement really cares they will be pressuring companies who manufacture vehicles and electronics to focus on battery and other consumable item recycling, and making it EASY to replace things. There is NO EFFING reason why they can't engineer B-EV's with modular battery packs that can be replaced at the DIY/home mechanic or even user level. Yes there are challenges with capacity, cooling, and safety; but if they really want it they can make it happen. It would be so nice to buy a B-EV and be able to replace the battery(s) as needed, easily, at a reasonable cost. There is no reason a vehicle couldn't last 50+ years if they did this properly. Delete greed and corruption, solve humanity's problems. Instead we now create more.

 

[amghwk]

They should start the program here in South East Asia. We have sun all year.

 

[Homerlovesbeer]

5000km hey? So less than a weeks worth of driving then. Yea not that impressed.

 

[Porkous]

Is a bit impressive... More if we dig deeper.
If this is half assisted, then it gives 416 km per month, but it does cut a big chunk of consumption since these trucks do consume a truckload of gasoline per km.

Those panels without protections are cringe