Scania’s new battery solution enables 720 km range
Scania is introducing a battery solution for its electric trucks where batteries are mounted behind the cab. In a typical configuration, two MP20 battery packs can be installed behind the cab. This significantly increases battery capacity, enabling ranges of up to 720 kilometers.
New battery technology is being introduced in Scania's electric trucks
Image: Scania
Scania is making it possible to configure battery-electric trucks for greater range without sacrificing the operational flexibility required for European long-haul applications. In a 6×2*4 tractor-trailer combination, additional batteries can be installed behind the cab—alongside the batteries mounted on the chassis.
This offering, called ‘Battery Behind Cab’, works in combination with Scania’s IVD front (Increased Vehicle Dimension). The Swedish manufacturer uses this term to describe a slightly forward-extended, aerodynamically optimised truck front. This new battery arrangement behind the cab is thus possible even when the vehicle’s total length exceeds 16.5 metres.
Scania reduces energy consumption by three per cent
Together with the new front, the vehicle can reduce energy consumption by up to three per cent, depending on equipment and application, as air resistance accounts for a larger share of total energy consumption in electric trucks, according to the company.
“Electric trucks are already part of the transport system, but long-haul operations place very different demands on range, payload and charging. With this solution, Scania is showing how those pieces can come together in a practical way for customers who want to electrify demanding long-distance routes,” says Lars Gustafsson, Senior Vice President and Head of Solutions Management at Scania.
In May, Scania announced that it would offer seven instead of six battery packs as a maximum configuration and introduce MCS. These are manufactured by MAN in Nuremberg, with both brands being sister companies within the Traton Group. Now, the topic is becoming more concrete, and Scania states that the new maximum configuration achieves a range of 720 kilometres.
A figure we also know from MAN: at IAA Transportation, the manufacturer announced that its electric flagship eTGX as a tractor unit will also be offered with seven battery packs in the future – with a range of the aforementioned 720 km.