The Volta Zero electric truck is a purpose-built 16-ton vehicle intended for inner-city freight deliveries. It’s designed to reduce the environmental impact of freight deliveries in city centers and be among the safest large commercial vehicles in the world. Volta Trucks is on a mission to be the most sustainable industrial vehicle manufacturer on the planet; therefore, it has adopted a holistic and comprehensive approach to sustainability, going beyond just tailpipe emissions.
Carl-Magnus Norden, Founder of Volta Trucks, said:
Sustainability is at the very core of our business. Saving the planet cannot wait, it must happen now, and Volta Trucks wants to spearhead the rapid change in large commercial vehicles, from outdated diesel to clean and safe technological solutions.
Not only does Volta aim to remove 180,000 tons of CO2 (the equivalent annual CO2 usage of 24,000 houses) from city centers by 2025, but its Volta Zero is also the world’s first road vehicle to make exterior body components using sustainably sourced carbon-neutral Flax and biodegradable resin composite. Usually, the natural composite is used only in competitive motor racing series. The European Space Agency collaborated in the creation of the panels for the truck.
Rob Fowler, CEO of Volta Trucks, said:
Every Volta Zero will remove tons of CO2 from our city’s atmospheres but we believe that sustainability is more than just tailpipe emissions, so we have taken an environmental-first approach to all material sourcing. This includes the world’s first use of natural flax and biodegradable resin composite in body panel construction that is CO2 neutral and fully recyclable. We will continue to strain every sinew to ensure we deliver on our mission of becoming the world’s most sustainable commercial vehicle manufacturer.
Compared to other lightweight solutions for paneling, the natural Flax composite offers more benefits. It’s up to three times better at vibration damping, so less noise pollution in the city. That, combined with the silent electric drivetrain, provides the pleasure of 24-hour peaceful usage for its operator. Also, the powerRibs™ and ampliTex™ composite body panels are safer because they bend and snap under the impact, rather than shatter into shards as carbon fiber would. Meaning, if there is an accident, there’s less chance of further injury from the debris.
On the topic of safety, the Volta Zero driver seat was wholly redesigned around the safety of all road users. The removal of the internal combustion engine made it possible to reposition the driver cab lower to the road, with a central driving position. This allows for a broad, 220-degree field of vision of the urban environment that greatly minimizes dangerous blind-spots.
The Volta Zero’s all-electric drivetrain draws power from a 160-200-kWh battery pack. It has a range of 200 km (125 mi) and a modest top speed of 90 km/h (56 mph). The loadspace for cargo is 37.3 m3 (1,317 ft3), while the payload capacity tops out at 8.6 tons (9.6 tons).
The prototype is currently under construction and is expected to make its debut later this year. The first batch of pilot test vehicles follows shortly after with plans to have customers evaluate them in the first quarter of 2021.
