The forestry industry just saw a major leap towards sustainability with the debut of the world’s first electric timber truck equipped with a crane. Unveiled in Sweden at the Elmia Lastbil fair, this cutting-edge vehicle is the result of a collaboration between SCA and Scania. It’s set to revolutionize timber collection by transporting logs directly from forests to terminals — all with zero emissions.

“With this new truck, SCA is pushing the envelope on sustainable timber transport. The positive feedback at Elmia has been overwhelming,” says Anton Ahlinder, business developer at SCA Skog.

Next-Gen Timber Transport
This electric timber truck follows in the footsteps of an earlier model that’s been in operation for over two years, hauling logs between a terminal and SCA’s Obbola paper mill. But this new version is a game changer — it’s equipped with a crane and a tandem drive, designed for collecting timber in the forest and transporting it to terminals, expanding its range of applications.

“We’re expecting the truck to hit the roads by early October,” says Ahlinder. “Our estimates suggest a range of just over 200 kilometres, although Scania projects it could go up to 320 kilometres. A lot will depend on the crane’s energy consumption, but we’ll test it and find out what works best.” Likely Scania is working on the highest possible milage similar to what we see car manufacturers doing.

Leading the Charge for Change
Rolf Lövgren at Åkeri & Entreprenad AB, which owns the truck, is eager to get started. “I’m thrilled to be a part of this pioneering project. We’ll be running the truck in the Östavall area, and while I’ll be driving it initially, we’re planning to have it running in shifts once we bring on more drivers,” says Rolf, excited to contribute to the future of clean timber transport.

Driving Sustainability with the TREE Project
This electric timber truck is a cornerstone of the TREE project, an initiative aiming for 50% of the forestry industry’s new trucks to be electric by 2030. The shift could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 170 tons annually for each truck.

“This project is about much more than just a single truck—it’s about setting a new standard for sustainable forestry. The support and enthusiasm we’ve received from both industry leaders and the public, including Infrastructure Minister Andreas Carlson, underscore just how important this work is,” Ahlinder explains.

However, to truly realize this vision, Ahlinder stresses that infrastructure needs to keep pace, including a larger network of charging stations and adjustments to driving regulations for electric vehicles.

Charging Up for the Future
Currently, the Östavall area will have four charging stations for the new electric timber truck, but to scale up electric trucking across the industry, much more investment in charging infrastructure or switching to a battery swap system is needed.

Source: cleantechnica.com