21.02.2023

Ahola Transport completed its first fully electric international transport

 

We completed our first full-electric cross-border road transport.

 


February 11 was a historic day for us as we completed our first cross-border transport from Sweden to Finland with a fully electric Scania truck. This was supposedly the first transport of its kind in Finland.

 


Electrifying the fleet is part of our long-term strategy

 

For decades, we have relied on the possibilities brought by digital tools, and it is important to us that the reduction of transport emissions is viewed as a whole. Sustainability is a part of everything we do, all the way from the planning table to the actual transportation, and the electrification of our vehicle fleet is part of the bigger picture. Now is the time for the industry's next leap toward a carbon-neutral future.

 


The path to the future is paved with courage

 

We want to leave behind a better world, and we are constantly exploring the possibilities brought by new forms of energy. This work is also done diligently at Scania, and therefore the cooperation has been a natural continuation of the development work of both.


At Ahola, we believe that the logistics industry will not change if we do not start changing it. To drive change, you often have to go where no one else has gone before. We also know that it is difficult to change the world alone, and that is why we need brave pioneers like Scania as partners on our journey.

 

The biggest obstacle to electrification is the lack of a public charging network


Over the past decades, the world has made leaps and bounds toward electric road transport, but the green transition still requires further reduction of emissions from heavy traffic. The current, extensive charging network is not designed to serve the needs of heavy traffic. The development of the network requires investments, especially from the private sector.

 

The CEF (Connecting Europe Facility) program of the European Union has proposed that all parking and rest areas located at junctions of main roads should in the future have a fast charging point with a power of at least 350 kW.

 


Transportation may be an energy business in the future

 

Our first electric truck, a Scania 25P BEV will drive dedicated routes between Scania's Södertälje factories and Ahola's Nykvarn site in Sweden. The truck is charged in Nykvarn. The purpose of the pilot project is to collect data, with the help of which electric heavy traffic can be developed, optimized better, and extended to the companies' other routes as well.


In the coming decades, the role of trucks powered by electricity and other renewables in the logistics chain will grow exponentially. In the future, the batteries of electric trucks can store and, if necessary, even feed electricity back into the grid. This could be a part of solving the current electricity storage issues.