Kaunis Iron, a mining company, invests to make its iron ore transport completely carbon-free. Together with Volvo Trucks , heavy electric trucks of 74 tonnes will be tested together in a unique project. Kaunis Iron will invest half a million SEK in new electric vehicles.
Kaunis recently transported its ore on a 160-kilometer stretch of road that runs between Kaunisvaara and Pitkajarvi in northern Sweden. The trucks are powered by diesel Volvo trucks. The journey is made by thirty semi-trailers of 90-ton each. It is planned to use battery-electric heavy transport vehicles to eliminate all fossil fuels and reduce CO2 emissions.
A Volvo FMX Electric truck, the Volvo FMX, was tested in winter 2021. It had to withstand temperatures exceeding -30°C and the extreme cold of winter.
Lars Wallgren, Kaunis Iron’s head of logistics, stated that our goal is to eliminate fossil fuel transport by 2025. We are currently working hard to solve our transportation problems with electric trucks. We can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 15,000 tons annually at current production rates if we succeed. The next phase will be started in 2023 using 74-ton trucks, with the goal of moving as many as 90 tons. This combination would remain the same as today’s diesel-powered crew, but it would have a lower gross weight.
“Volvo Trucks is very committed to sustainability and we are happy to supply this project. It will make a real difference. Kaunis Iron’s iron ore transport is one of the most difficult applications in terms of train weights and cold climate. We are proud to be the market leader in electrified heavy transport and look forward to expanding our collaboration,” Ebba Bergbom, Commercial Electromobility Manager at Volvo Trucks Sweden, said.
This project is a collaboration of Kaunis Iron, , Volvo Trucks’ dealer Wist Last & Buss and the energy company and Vattenfall, who will provide support for charging infrastructure for electric trucks.