Trucks can now also charge electrically at the multifunctional Green Planet charging station in Pesse. It is only the second public charging station in our country. ‘You have to move with the times.’
High purchase prices, not very wide range, lack of charging points and an overcrowded power grid. Transport entrepreneurs who want to switch from diesel to electric trucks are certainly not made easy. And yet there are those who take the step. Such as Anne Hoekstra (69) from the transport company of the same name in Idskenhuizen, Frisian.
“You have to keep up with the times. And things change. This is the future,” he says, standing in front of the company’s brand new electric Volvo truck. It is located at Green Planet in Pesse, where Shell opens the second public charging station for electric trucks in our country on Tuesday afternoon. It is also the only one in the Northern Netherlands, the other is in Eindhoven.
Hefty price tag
Hoekstra also had to think about it for a moment. “It comes with a hefty price tag. This truck costs about 370,000 euros, while you can buy a diesel truck for 140,000 euros. There is a subsidy of 125,000 euros, otherwise it would be very expensive. And the range is also a thing, which is about 350 kilometers. So you have to plan well.”
One of his employees confirms this. “If we connect a second electric truck to the power grid at our company in Idskenhuizen, the entire village will probably go out of business. The capacity of the grid is running out these days.”
In practice, it is easy to drive an electric truck, says driver Leo Ravensbergen (35), who makes many trips through Groningen in an electric Volvo truck for industrial baker Goedhart in New Amsterdam. “It drives fantastic. It’s quiet and you have a lot of power. I would find it a punishment if I had to go back to a diesel. You just have to be a little careful with the accelerator. Especially when it is cold, the range drops to about 275 kilometers. That’s no problem for me, I drive during the day and charge the car at the bakery at night.”
Additional charging points are coming, but it will not happen quickly
Aleid van der Wiel from Shell foresees a great future for electric driving, including for transport. “Of course the number of charging points must be expanded, we are working hard on that. This year, ten more charging stations will be added in Europe. Three quarters of drivers do not charge at the roadside, but at the company. But those extra charging stations will come, even if not quickly.”
Owner Edward Doorten of Green Planet, the sustainable fuel company in Pesse, also predicts significant growth in electric transport. Although there are more sustainable options, such as HVO (biodiesel), hydrogen and green biogas. “You have to take a step at some point. There is no way back, because there comes a time when you are no longer allowed to enter the city center with a diesel truck.”
There are currently approximately 163,000 trucks in our country, which fill up with 2 billion liters of diesel every year. In addition, there are approximately 500 emission-free trucks. And there are 15,000 electric vans on the road. The government wants more than 10 percent of the transport fleet to be electric by 2030. The seven largest truck makers have pledged to stop producing diesel engines by 2040.