From diesel to electric: AB Texel's transition underway
Smooth, quiet and fit for the job, that is driving an electric truck in a nutshell, says Maclé van Helden, driver for AB Texel and an enthusiastic participant in the company's electric vehicle (EV) pilot. Soon, more colleagues will experience the shift from diesel to electric. To achieve the sustainability objectives, AB Texel prepares to scale from five electric trucks today to as many as 100 by 2030. The project is overseen by Manager Sustainability Piet Bakker.
‘We have seen enormous progress in just three years,’ says Piet about the rapid technological advancements in EV trucking. ‘The range of electric trucks has steadily increased, as has charging output. We are now at 300/400 kWh and counting, allowing for much faster charging. Today, we are limited to shorter distances and areas with sufficient charging infrastructure. But even then, there are plenty of suitable transport routes. I am confident that by 2030, we could be up to 100 electric trucks.’
Championing the transition
Maclé has become an ambassador for electric driving. ‘I find this technology fascinating and have enjoyed being part of the pilot.’ He admits it was an adjustment. ‘For the first two months I stayed close to my home base in 't Zand (the Netherlands). Slowly, I became more familiar with charging options on my routes. Now, I drive all over the Netherlands. I have even gone to Belgium a few times. That was a little nerve-wracking. But overall, you experience that it is very doable, especially when you can charge overnight in 't Zand or near our Utrecht location.’
Investments in charging infrastructure
With relatively few electric trucks on the road, there is no competition for charging stations yet, but that will change. Piet is planning ahead. In 't Zand, the construction of an EV charging hub is underway. ‘We are building the underground infrastructure to ultimately install twelve charging stations. By year-end, two of the twelve will be active, and from there we will expand until we reach capacity. It requires a long-term perspective. You have to renegotiate your energy contract, which is challenging due to grid congestion. We put in our request two years ago and are finally in the construction phase.’
Why not use existing loading infrastructure? The answer is twofold: time and cost. ‘There is a huge cost difference between charging at home and charging on the road,’ explains Piet. ‘In a low-margin industry like ours, that really matters.’ Charging during the day can also cause planning issues, Maclé adds. ‘It can easily take an hour – time that can't be utilised.’
A tipping point
Even when charging at home overnight, electric trucks still have a higher total cost of ownership than diesel trucks. ‘But there will be a tipping point,’ says Piet, ‘due to subsidies, tax breaks and other incentives.’
AB Texel is not waiting for the scales to tip; they are moving forward. Piet: ‘in addition to electrifying our fleet, we are switching to different fuels with a lower carbon footprint, like HVO and bio-LNG. All of these initiatives will contribute to our CO2 reduction goal and to the climate transition.’
