Traton : Why the battery represents the future for trucks

"Even assuming the current electricity mix, there are few other measures that would result in such a massive reduction in CO₂ emissions with such a small investment as the introduction of fully electric trucks."

Andreas Kammel

This advantage of batteries also has a positive impact on the construction of power generation facilities. Because of the greater energy efficiency of batteries, the electricity from one wind farm could power three times as many battery electric trucks as their hydrogen equivalents. Even with the volatilities of renewable energy production, this imbalance cannot be compensated. Far fewer solar and wind farms will have to be built to supply battery electric trucks, because most of them will be charging at the times of day when there is already a relative surplus of electricity, in other words, in the afternoon and at night.

On particularly windy or sunny days, they could even support the energy transition by using the excess energy for charging. This would relieve the strain on the electricity grid and allow the energy to be sold instead of being exported laboriously. In addition, the emissions of the batteries can be compensated for in only a few months and soon it will be possible to recycle at least 90% of the valuable raw materials that the batteries contain, which will improve their carbon footprint even further. From an overall perspective, battery technology is more environmentally friendly than fuel cells and also saves taxpayers' money. "Even with the existing energy mix, there are very few other measures that would result in such a significant reduction in CO₂ emissions with such a small investment as the introduction of battery electric trucks," says Andreas Kammel, responsible for the strategy for alternative powertrains and autonomous driving at the TRATON GROUP.