The eActros 300 has successfully crossed the Arlberg Pass in Austria, Mercedes-Benz Trucks announced.
Covering a total distance of 111 kilometres, sometimes at an elevation of more than 1,800 metres, the electric truck was fully loaded to 40 tonnes by engineers as part of a series of tests in Tyrol.
A special focus was put on energy recovery through recuperation, which can be used extensively in the alpine topography of Tyrol.
During recuperation, energy gained while braking is returned to the eActros’ batteries and is then made available to the drive unit.
In this way, the electric tractor unit was able to recover a total of around 180 kWh of energy.
At the end of the demanding tour which involved moving through Bludenz, Stuben, St. Anton and Lech about 40 per cent of the energy was still available.
The electric semi-trailer tractor is based on the same technology as the eActros 300/400.
Three battery packs, each with an installed battery capacity of 112kWh, enable a range of up to 220 kilometres on a single battery charge.
“The tractor unit version of the eActros 300 expands the application options of the eActros for heavy-duty distribution transport,” said Stina Fagerman, Mercedes-Benz Trucks Head of Sales, Marketing and Services.
“The intensive tests in Austria have shown our electric truck can reliably fulfil its tasks, even in a particularly challenging topography with extreme uphill and downhill grades,” she said.
In total, the electric semi-trailer climbed 2,300 meters in altitude during the test – the maximum grade was at 13 per cent.
On the way to the test area, the truck’s batteries were only charged at public charging stations.
Series production launch of the eActros 300 semitrailer tractor is planned for the second half of 2023.
It recently appeared at the IAA Transportation event in Hanover.