A Lund-based company, Zemission, aims to solve the challenges of electrifying heavy-duty trucks. In collaboration with the vehicle component manufacturer Alfdex in Landskrona, they are preparing for mass production of a component designed to increase the range of electric vehicles.
Zemission’s technology involves heating the cab and battery, which must also be heated in cold weather, without reducing the range.
Heating the cab and battery reduces the vehicle’s range by up to 25% in winter. This is a major problem with today’s electric trucks; haulers need to be sure they can drive the entire distance every time,” says Anders Vestin, CEO and founder of Zemission.
He continues:
Electric drive is what the truck industry is primarily looking at for the climate transition of vehicles. With our technology, the size of the batteries can be reduced from four tons to just over three tons, a reduction equivalent to two Tesla batteries. We don’t use electricity but ethanol or HVO (biodiesel) in a small tank on the truck. The solution is both environmentally friendly and cheap.
The plan is for mass production to start in 2027. The technology is based on catalytic combustion and can, according to Anders Vestin, be used on all commercially available fuels, both liquid and gas. It is the software that is adjusted depending on the type of fuel.
The technology can be used in everything from home boilers to airplanes, and we don’t create any emissions during combustion so no exhaust cleaning is needed.
For ten years, the company has tested different applications commercially without much success, but now the focus is on heavy vehicles. The operations have been financed with EU grants and customer projects, and for a few years, they have had projects with the truck manufacturers Volvo and Scania. “So far, we have managed without venture capital. We license the technology – combustion technology, circuit design, and software – to Alfdex, which is responsible for production. We will also help with sales and support.”
What is the competition like in the truck segment?
There are solutions with heat pumps, but they also draw electricity from the battery and are not as efficient as house heat pumps.
Summary
Zemission, a Swedish company, has developed a new technology to heat the cabs and batteries of electric trucks without significantly reducing their range. This is accomplished by using a small tank of ethanol or bio diesel and a catalytic combustion process. The technology is seen as a game-changer for the electric truck industry as it could reduce battery size and increase the overall efficiency of electric vehicles. The company is partnering with major truck manufacturers like Volvo and Scania to bring this technology to market.
