Voltloader, a leading provider of electric HGV transport and charging services, has launched its service in the agricultural sector and has become the first transport company to offer combinable crop deliveries using electric-powered articulated vehicles.
Founded 18 months ago, the company uses Volvo FM tractor units with 540 kWh of battery installed and 666 bhp to service its customers. Voltloader has a customised tipping trailer design to allow an optimum payload helping to offset the weight of the vehicle battery.
Dave Rose, CEO and Founder of Voltloader, admitted the vehicles have been creating a stir with both customers and drivers, with particular attention given to their near-silent operation, “At Voltloader, we are reinventing the way a transport provider operates, having to consider factors such as charging requirements and vehicle range. We have shown that regional use cases for moving bulk products are perfectly possible. What’s more, for every diesel vehicle we replace we can cut up to 100 tonnes of carbon per year from the agricultural supply. It’s a game-changing shift for the sector and particularly those focused on their scope 3 emissions.”
He goes on to say “With ever increasing climate events and data to show the changes in our environment, it is vital as an industry we do our part to drive down emissions and make sustainable change.
“And of course it makes sense to utilise the often cheaper locally generated clean electricity from our home shores to power zero emission HGV’s rather than rely on imported diesel.”
Through strategic collaborations with prominent grain merchants, mills, and processors across the UK, Voltloader is spearheading an industry transition that it believes will ultimately help to remove millions of tonnes of carbon from the food supply chain. Initial operations commenced in the East of England with plans to extend to other locations nationwide. Initial focus is on moving grain and other agricultural produce on regional runs of distances between 10 and 70 miles.
The vehicles are capable of achieving over 150 miles range on a single charge and can be charged in as little as an hour and a half using Voltloader’s ultra-fast chargers. In order to increase vehicle range and service performance, Voltloader will install ultra-fast chargers capable of charging HGVs at specific customers sites (in addition to their own depots). Voltloader chargers will be accessible to their customers and their customer’s suppliers, supporting a wider industry roll-out of electric vehicles.
