Electricity’s future role as the power source for heavy road vehicles will be better understood when New Zealand’s first two Volvo FM Electric 6×4 trucks join Auckland roads this month.

Purchased by Fulton Hogan with support from EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority)’s Low Emissions Heavy Vehicle Fund, the Volvos will each transport up to 16,000kg of asphalt from plants in Penrose and Drury to sites around the city.

Fulton Hogan has already worked with Volvo and EECA to pioneer other large electrically powered equipment. This is their first collaboration with road-going vehicles.

Fulton Hogan NZ chief executive, Ben Hayward, said the launch of the Volvo FM trucks is “another learning step on the path to a low emissions fleet”.

“For electricity to replace fossil fuel in large equipment like this we need organisations who are committed to investing in change, and we’re grateful to be working with two like-minded organisations to take this step,” he said.

Across our wider fleet, the potential opportunities to reduce emissions, with time, are enormous.”

General manager for Volvo Trucks NZ, Scott Holt, said transitioning to low carbon fleets requires leaders like Fulton Hogan to deliver learnings that will enable others to follow.

“We’re committed to working to support the team’s commercial, safety and sustainability goals across their operations to help achieve this,” he said.

Modelling the efficacy of the 450kWh vehicles prior to purchase showed their ‘sweet spot’ was short duration, cyclic trips in urban/suburban areas. It indicated a 152km range with a full 16,000kg load, using 2.92kWh/km at an average speed of 43km/h, including 38kWh of regenerated energy.

If these figures are consistent with actual use, this will reduce emissions by a combined total (both trucks) of approximately 150 tonnes CO₂e annually compared with diesel powered trucks performing the same task over 60,000km per year.

In addition to the environmental benefits, there is a focus on safety. The truck’s new trailers have been designed and manufactured in Hamilton by Transport Trailers to eject their load without the need for tipping. This design is a significant safety improvement in terms of eliminating tip-over risk and overhead utility strikes.