Video Transcript
Swedish manufacturer Scania hasunveileda project to make a solar-powered truck with electrical propulsion generated from solar cells on a trailer attached to the hybrid-electric truck. Scania has finished a prototype and delivered it to its partner, Ernst Express, for real-world testing in operational conditions.
According to Eric Falkgrim, the project manager for the solar-powered truck, the starting point was lithium-ion batteries commonly found in battery-electric trucks. As the team watched the batteries become cheaper, lighter, and with increased energy density, they wondered if solar cells would show a similar trend.
In 2019, the company conducted a six-month pre-study but ultimately decided not to pursue the technology. Following funding from the Swedish Agency for Innovation Systems, the team began a full-scale project in January 2021 to see if they could integrate solar panels into trucks.
Falkgrim explained that the hybrid truck, equipped with a 100-kilowatt-hour energy storage unit, is linked to the trailer that contains supplementary batteries that boast a 200-kilowatt-hour energy storage capacity and are connected with the solar panel unit that recharges the power bank.
Technical challenges for the project included monitoring the efficient and safe transfer of power from solar panels to the truck’s electrical system because solar cells are typically stationary and not designed for the vibrations and movement of a vehicle.
Falkgrim explained that if the project is expanded, it has the potential to impact the energy industry by enabling thousands of vehicles to be connected to the grid. Commercial application of the truck is still years away, but Falkgrim is enthusiastic about the future possibilities of solar cell technology.
