Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團).
With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group (TMG, 太古汽車集團) managing director David Tung (佟德望) and director of commercial vehicle Willy Chen (陳偉忠) attended the ceremony, along with other important guests. TMG is the official dealer of Volvo in Taiwan.
Koo said about 12 percent of carbon emissions in Taiwan come from the transportation sector, and a large percentage of carbon emitted from the transportation sector comes from vehicles on highways.
Large trucks and tractors were ranked the second-largest carbon emitter among highway vehicles, he added.
TTS has contributed to the creation of a sustainable environment by incorporating electric cargo trucks and electric tractor units in its fleet. The tractor unit would be used to transport cement and related products, which would help reduce aggregate carbon emissions by 32 percent.
Taiwan has a relatively warmer climate and a shorter driving distance, making it the perfect place to develop electric vehicles, Koo said.
“We believe that Taiwanese companies can effectively reduce Category III carbon emissions through the use of electric commercial vehicles,” Koo said. “Of course, there are costs to be paid for reducing carbon emissions. However, we hope that the solution that TCC Holdings is practicing — green energy, energy storage and use of electric commercial vehicles — would attract more firms that are aiming to reach the goal of zero carbon emission to work with us.”
Selven said that Volvo Trucks is very determined to drive the transformation toward net zero emission, and the company is committed to offering a net-zero emission product range by 2040.
The company also has strategies to reach the goal, Selven added.
“We, of course, are putting a lot of effort into the electrification of vehicles. We are also equally investing in combustion engine technology, making sure that the engine is more energy efficient and can be powered by bio-fuel or other alternative fuels,” Selven said.
Other strategies include allowing vehicles to be powered by hydrogen energy and developing fuel cell technology, Selven added.
Many of the company’s factories are already carbon dioxide-neutral, using spare energy and putting solar panels on rooftops, Selven said when asked if Volvo Trucks has other sustainable plans.
“When it comes to battery technology, we want to take full responsibility for the battery’s life cycle. When a battery has come to the end of its life cycle or is damaged, we have a company called Volvo Energy, which is in charge of recycling, remanufacturing and refurbishing batteries so that they can be used again in other trucks or for other purposes,” Selven said.
Selven acknowledged that electric vehicles, a new technology, are still more expensive compared with other vehicles, but said that technology would evolve over time to enable vehicles to carry more energy, and costs that customers have to bear would gradually fall.
With the demand for electric vehicles increasing, the economy of scale could help drive down costs, Selven said.
Drivers of electric vehicles enjoy other benefits as well, including paying less on fuel and feeling less vibration on vehicles.
Customers also see values other than pure financial ones, Selven added.
Tung said that the development of electric trucks is in sync with TMG’s pursuit of sustainable development goals, adding that demand for electric trucks in Taiwan has been growing over the years.
“Many Taiwanese companies work with overseas suppliers, who have already paid attention to carbon footprint, carbon tax and other relevant issues. What we are offering is a total solution, including trucks, battery charging and other after-sales services,” Tung said.
As costs of carbon emission are expected to continue rising in the future, companies that focus on reducing emissions would gain a better competitive edge, Tung added.
Cheng said that New Horizons Ahead (台泥儲能), an energy storage firm under TCC Holdings, would soon work with TTS to build charging stations for electric tractor units, adding that the equipment in the station would allow electric trucks to be fully charged in 50 minutes. TTS has procured two Volvo electric tractors with tank truck barrels to transport low-carbon cement for TCC.
The electric tractor, which weighs 43 tonnes, has a cruising range of up to 300km. The battery capacity could be up to 540 kilowatts per hour, depending on the number of batteries installed. It could be equipped with up to three electric motors and a 12-speed electric drive transmission gearbox. The maximum output is 666 horsepower, data from Volvo Trucks showed.
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