Many of us have experienced it – the battery in the phone loses power when the blistering cold sets in. To avoid the same fate, Volvo Trucks has tested it´s electric trucks in extremely cold weather close to the Arctic Circle. The result? A feature to maintain battery performance, even when the temperature is far below zero.
“We have customers all over the world and our trucks need to perform everywhere, so harsh climate testing is essential, of course including our electric range” says Jessica Sandström, SVP Product Management at Volvo Trucks.
What happens to a battery-powered truck when the thermometer shows -25° C and hard winds set in? To find out, Volvo Trucks has conducted winter tests in the far northern part of Sweden.
“When testing our trucks out in the field, close to the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden, we assess all the unpredictable elements of nature,” continues Jessica Sandström. “The wind builds up ice on the truck, which gives us great opportunities to make sure that everything performs correctly under extreme circumstances. Our tests have shown that it works very well to operate our electric trucks in these really cold environments.”
One tangible result of the winter testing is a new feature called Ready to Run. This feature prepares the truck for the workday, when needed by pre-heating, or if operating in very warm weather, by cooling the batteries and the cab of the truck. The optimal temperature for the batteries is around +25° and the driver can easily start the preheating or precooling, remotely via an app.
