JSW AMPSTAR are deploying 100 electric tractor-trailer trucks for JSW Cement. The project will be supported by 4 battery swap stations providing solutions to one of the main issues that electric trucks face – getting them back on the road as quickly as possible.
These truck have a max power of 430 Kw and max torque of 2,600 Nm. This shows that they have the power to carry big loads over long distances. The project will save 4.5 crore litres of diesel.
Battery Swapping Can Reduce Downtime
One of the biggest problems with electric trucks is charging time. Whilst passenger vehicles may have a busy schedule, heavy duty trucks used in logistics are usually very busy. They often travel between manufacturing plants, storage and distribution centres. This means downtime could be increased if they are left for long periods of time.
Battery swapping can help solve this issue. If a truck runs out of charge then instead of waiting for it to charge they can swap the battery for one which has been charged. This means they can get back on the road quicker.
The 4 battery swap stations will be key to this project. They will be located along the 330km route. How well they perform will depend on how they are placed, charged batteries are available, and how well the fleet can be scheduled.
As the trucks are travelling along a set route this should make managing the charging stations easier. As the trucks are following a set pattern it can help with planning how many batteries will be needed and when they will be needed.
Can Electric Trucks Be Cheaper Than Diesel?
The biggest question for this project is whether it can beat diesel trucks in cost per tonne km. This means how much it costs to carry 1 tonne over 1 km.
Electric trucks can help reduce energy costs, maintenance costs and diesel price volatility. However, whether they can be profitable depends on various factors. This includes the price of electricity, battery swap cost, initial purchase price, financing, battery rentals and infrastructure costs.
Whilst battery swapping can reduce downtime there will be a cost to set up the stations and have extra batteries. If the vehicles are being used frequently and making lots of journeys during the day then these costs could be offset by the amount of freight being transported. If the vehicles aren’t being used much or the battery swap stations aren’t being used then it could become less economical.
The payload of the vehicles can also be an issue. The weight of the batteries, the max weight of the vehicle and how much freight is being carried can all effect the cost per tonne km. The electric fleet must prove it can carry the same amount of freight as diesel vehicles.
Diesel Savings
The project will save 4.5 crore litres of diesel. This means diesel can be replaced with electric trucks and reduce direct emissions from the tail pipe.
However how environmentally friendly this is depends on how green the electricity is to charge the batteries, how efficient the battery swapping stations are and how much diesel km’s are being saved. Other factors will include how environmentally friendly the batteries are to produce.
For a cement manufacturer this could become a large factor in reducing the impact on the environment. As they require large amounts of freight they will need to look at ways to improve their freight.
A Good Test For The Indian Electric Trucking Industry
This project could be a good test for whether battery swapping can help to make electric trucks economical at scale in India. Having 100 tractor trucks running along a specific route of 330km means that we can see how they perform, how quickly they can be turned around, how many batteries are available and how much it costs to run.
In the long term this project will depend on the results. We will need to see how much the fleet is being used, how much freight they are carrying, how much it costs to run the vehicles, how much it costs to maintain and how much it costs to run the battery swap stations. This will show whether they can compete with diesel. If the project performs as expected then it could help prove that battery swap stations can be used in other high volume industries such as cement, steel, mining and logistics. Overall this project by JSW AMPSTAR shows a key question for the transition to electric mobility in India. Can heavy duty electric trucks be economical with freight? This will depend on whether battery swapping can provide a quick turnaround, reliable solution and cheaper cost per tonne km.