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A comment on Volvo Trucks to launch full range of electric trucks in Europe in 2021. Parent comment

Re:Volvo Trucks to launch full range of electric trucks in E... by cmrdporcupine on Thursday November 05, 2020 @12:28PM (#25000061)
I honestly don't see the issue for industrial type machinery. It's not like some Tesla that has to have a sleek body and beautiful styling. Trucks are already big boxes that carry giant boxes behind them.

Why should one of those boxes not be a giant 300kwh battery pack that they swap out at the multitude of weigh stations they have to stop at along the highway already? Just run massive power to the weigh stations, put in a few massive DC chargers and some forklifts.

Hell you could go further and have other parts of the drivetrain in there -- the controller, the charger unit, the DC to DC converter, etc. Then you have an upgrade path for the trucks as the tech improves.

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Re:Volvo Trucks to launch full range of electric trucks in E... by myself248 on Thursday November 05, 2020 @12:42PM (#25000197)
At some point aren't you just swapping the entire horse? Just transfer the rider and the saddle bags.
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Re:Volvo Trucks to launch full range of electric trucks in E... by spockz on Thursday November 05, 2020 @12:53PM (#25000313)
Who don’t we do this? Driver makes it to the way station. Has a chat with the next driver while refilling and that driver takes it for the next four/six hours.
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Re:Volvo Trucks to launch full range of electric trucks in E... by signaturefish on Thursday November 05, 2020 @01:11PM (#25000482)
That /is/ how "we" do it with trains. The difference is that long-distance truckers generally live in their cabs for weeks on end, so they can't easily hand it off to another driver.
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Re:Volvo Trucks to launch full range of electric trucks in E... by spockz on Thursday November 05, 2020 @04:25PM (#25002140)
Ok. So then the lorry and the driver stay behind and the lorry/payload get switched. But apparently there is no such need for speed for road transport and otherwise they would use a plane?
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Re:Volvo Trucks to launch full range of electric trucks in E... by throwaway0a5e on Thursday November 05, 2020 @07:17PM (#25003578)
Long distance trucking will be the last to go electric for a variety of reasons, weight being one of the biggest. We're mostly talking local delivery here.
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Re:Volvo Trucks to launch full range of electric trucks in E... by Symbiote on Thursday November 05, 2020 @12:54PM (#25000321)
It will depend on the cost.

At some point, the cost of the mechanisms and staff to swap the battery is more than the cost of the rest of a second vehicle.

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