E.ON has held what it claims is the first ‘eTruckathon’ involving 12 electric trucks, 12 teams, and 300 km of driving ahead of the forthcoming IAA Transportation show in Hannover, Germany later this month.
The participants in the eTruckathon included teams from renowned companies such as Daimler Truck, DB Schenker, DHL, Elflein Transport & Logistik, FAUN, Fiege, Gruber Logistics, Hyundai, Hylane, MAN, Renault, L. Stroetmann and Trailer Dynamics.
The 12 teams set off from the E.ON Drive TestingLab in Essen, where E.ON develops and tests Charging solutions for electromobility, and ended the 300km journey at the IAA exhibition grounds in Hannover. The route included freeways and country roads, and although the range of all the trucks was sufficient for the entire route, charging stops were planned to demonstrate the suitability of charging for everyday use.
Marc Spieker, Chief Operating Officer at E.ON, said the purpose of the eTruckathon was to “bring together the leading players in the industry to provide a practical insight into the current possibilities of environmentally friendly heavy goods transport”.
E.ON will be presenting the results from the eTruckathon together with the participating companies at the IAA Transportation show taking place 17-22 September in Hannover. The 12 eTruckathon teams will also available to answer questions about the event and the latest developments in electric HGVs.
E.ON is also collaborating with MAN Truck and Bus to expand the charging infrastructure for commercial vehicles. As part of their partnership, the companies will be setting up around 170 locations with approximately 400 public charging points at MAN service stations across Europe, with the first three locations becoming operational this year and 80 charging locations in place by the end of 2025.
