Can HGV lorries go green faster? | BBC News

[Music] there are millions of heavy Goods trucks driving on roads all over the world but why are so few of them running on electricity to find out we're in s Talia near Sweden's capital and home to one of Europe's biggest truck manufacturers they're on the long road to changing an industry that's having a big impact on our planet the biggest and largest change that uh our industry has for over 100 years from we went from horses to Vehicles actually now trundling off the end of their production line is an increasing number of electric trucks and Scania eventually wants that to be every vehicle they make switching to electric vehicle production hasn't been easy one of the biggest challenges is the weight of the B batteries they had to reinforce the concrete and bring in new equipment to be able to lift them and that meant closing down the production line for 3 months there are uh several thousand new components into an electric vehicles and uh also what was very important during this time was to also cater for the reskilling of all our fantastic Workforce so that they could be able also to mount electrical Vehicles just as they do for internal combustion engin unlike for cars this move to Electric Trucking is going at a very slow pace so what motivates a company to make such a big gear shift Hi how are you doing welcome on board thank you nice to meet you I'm hitching a lift from the man with the keys to this organization this company have been part of the problem for 130 years almost a very long time producing those trucks that were emitting uh the emissions that were were not good for the planet is there guilt behind the change yeah I think there is uh guilt there is the notion that we want to be able to see our kids and our our grandchildren in the eyes and be able to say we we knew it and we choose to do something about it instead of just trying to continue to optimize profits and do the things that company companies do uh and there is also notion of uh coming early to the Insight that this is the future competitiveness you know if you're if you're lost into this journey you're going to have a hell of a problem to compete because at some point everyone will understand uh and that has been really important because you have to have that as a company when you are to convince your supervisory board uh your owners and everyone around you in the ecosystem that you need to walk down this path not only did Scania stop output for several months they also built this battery Factory right next to where the trucks are asend assembled we're in one of the most Hightech parts of this site where lots of robots are assembling the batteries that will end up in the trucks it's quite mesmerizing to watch these batteries weigh an incredible 4,000 kilos that presents lots of challenges for those driving them there are still lots of questions though about using battery electric is it powerful enough to move these heavy trucks is of the charging infrastructure to allow them to go where they need to go and at three times the cost of a normal truck are they a Sound Investment that companies will get their money back on and part of the debate has also been about other ways to power trucks with some in the industry suggesting hydrogen fuel cells are the best solution for green Trucking battery electric is the most uh cost efficient so therefore we believe in this and also it is possible to build the infrastructure and everything around it so what do you think should we go for a ride I think we should let's do it all right let's go it's completely silent and it's strong torque is amazing you must still have a hard job though convincing companies and drivers to make the switch sure there is a lot of skepticism um I'm I'm traveling a lot in my in my job and I I was also to Finland here a couple of couple of weeks ago uh which I would have expected to be Market ready to transition quickly uh but huge skepticism you know will will this really work can it the temperatures of Northern Finland you know the home of uh of Santa Claus really cold really tough drives really high uh vehicle weights uh and and I understand that we we need to take that on with facts uh and then the best way to convince customers is as always when something is new and this is a very traditional industry we're in so we're used to that but when there is something new let them test by 2030 Scania wants half of the trucks they sell to be electric and fully battery operated by 2050 but that is still a long way off I certainly think this journey could be much accelerated if the legislature would be more um more active in supporting the change um this is our biggest challenge night the vehicle is here I mean what we sit in now is a 40 toner it's European long haulage uh but we're also supplying 60 64 74 and 80 tonners I spend a lot of time in Brussels uh in Berlin in Stockholm all over to try to convince politicians that this is a good thing you know this is not just for the environment it's also great it's driver environment the road to Green Trucking is is slow there's still a lot of work to do for manufacturers across the industry trying to convince buyers to make this switch [Music]