Scania's push towards an electric future is well-documented, with the company recently unveiling plans to invest heavily in a sprawling test track for electric vehicles (EV) and autonomous trucks. So, it's no surprise that the Swedish truck and bus maker is rapidly developing its future lineup.
The Scania Heavy Tipper is now reportedly set to begin testing at the LKAB mine in Malmberget, northern Sweden. The model will be joined by an electric crane truck specifically geared towards heavy mining operations.
Scania joining forces with LKAB, a state-owned mining company, comes as both firms reach a crossroads in their business operations. The two companies are working on ways to make their businesses more sustainable over the coming years, and testing the Heavy Tipper in a real mine could be a significant step in that direction.
We continue to work with customers that are willing to try innovative solutions together with us. For Scania it is very valuable to be able to test electric vehicles in the extreme environment in real customers operations in the mine. On top of that, the electric heavy tipper is the first of its kind in the industry and another really big step on the journey towards sustainable transport solutions across all applications.
The Scania Heavy Tipper battery-electric truck weighs over 49,000 kg, including load weight. It will transport residual products coming out of the LKAB mine. The other electric truck features a crane that can transport drilling steel to underground drill rigs. The latter model will charge at the depot, but Scania is also banking on mobile charging sites to increase flexibility during testing.
The two trucks will reportedly begin operations at the LKAB site this year. We'll have to wait and see how Scania's newest electric truck fares against the grueling challenge of mining operations.
