Stockholm Vatten och Avfall, in collaboration with Scania and Vicky Teknik, is investing in electric vehicles to reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainable operations.
They have developed the world’s first electric truck-mounted attenuator (TMA) vehicle for road works to protect workers and road users from collisions.
The vehicle’s roof is equipped with solar cells that generate power to operate the lights indicating the direction of travel for road users.
The TMA vehicle also has been specifically designed for the operational needs of Stockholm Vatten och Avfall. It is shorter than conventional TMA cars, enabling easy access to narrow streets and smooth maneuverability.
The vehicle is employed for quick and unplanned tasks, like turning the water on and off, flushing drains, or replacing loose drain covers. Its quiet engine also enhances the working environment for people close to the vehicle.
“We want to work to be a good example and show others that the transition to fossil-free vehicle operation is possible,” said Krister Sörling, the unit manager of Operation and Maintenance at Stockholm Vatten och Avfall.
“An example of that has been developing this specially built TMA car together with the suppliers.”
In late May, Stockholm Vatten och Avfall started using its first electric garbage truck to collect residual waste in the Kungsholmen area.
Ronnie Andersson, the vehicle manager at Urbaser, responsible for household waste collection on Kungsholmen and overseeing the electric garbage truck, claimed that the vehicle’s quiet operation and emitting zero grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer are highly valued by residents and drivers alike.
Reducing Carbon Emissions
“We want to test a new kind of environmental vehicle, as a complement to the other environmentally friendly garbage trucks,” said Johanna Göransson, the unit manager for Collection at Stockholm Vatten och Avfall.
She added that if the electric garbage truck proves to be efficient in collecting residual waste, there is a possibility of including electric garbage trucks in future procurement plans.
Between 2020 and 2022, Stockholm Vatten och Avfall significantly reduced around 40 percent in carbon dioxide emissions from their fleet of 163 vehicles, which consists of passenger cars, light trucks, and heavy trucks that operate on renewable fuels like electricity, biogas, and HVO100.
The company said sustainable fuels comprised about 96 percent of the previous year’s total fuel consumption. In 2022, Stockholm Vatten och Avfall released 160 tonnes of carbon dioxide from these vehicles (GHG Scope 1), a 40-tonne reduction compared to 2021.
It also revealed that the work vehicles at the recycling centers contribute 45 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. However, there has been an impressive reduction of nearly 90 percent in these emissions over the past two years until the end of 2022.