Swedish commercial vehicle manufacturer Scania and battery developer and manufacturer Northvolt have launched a new jointly developed green battery for heavy electric vehicles.
The green battery can power trucks for their entire lifetime of 1.5 million kilometers, with a carbon footprint of around one-third of a comparable standard industry product (the IVL 2019 lithium-ion cell NMC 111).
The battery cell comes in a 3.6 V prismatic format, with a capacity of 157 Ah. It is currently in production at the Northvolt Ett gigafactory with fossil-free electricity in northern Sweden.
“As the development of the battery cell started, we targeted high performance, low operating costs and long lifetime,” said Scania CEO Christian Levin.
Sustainability efforts
During the validation tests, the lithium-ion cell demonstrated exceptional durability, which exceeded the initial target. Levin called the success of the battery development a “milestone,” as the company continues to step towards a sustainable transport system.
The project between the two sustainability frontrunners started in 2017 when they joined forces to develop and commercialize batteries for heavy commercial vehicles.
Then in 2019, the truck manufacturer signed a battery supply deal with Northvolt.
According to former Scania CEO Henrik Henriksson, the partnership would help Scania secure enough battery capacities should there be a shortage of batteries for the global automotive sector.
Scania requires high-performing battery cells for their electric trucks, and Northvolt is able to deliver batteries specifically geared toward trucks rather than the available models for cars.
“Northvolt and Scania agreed to an ambitious timeline for the development of a high-performance battery cell which would enable their plans for electrifying heavy transport,” said Peter Carlsson, CEO and co-founder of Northvolt.
Besides the new battery launch, Scania also announced its plans to open a new battery assembly plant in Södertälje later this year. The factory will assemble the battery cells into packs to produce heavy-duty electric trucks.