Iberdrola uses electric trucks for grid maintenance work in Brazil
Iberdrola, through its subsidiary in Brazil Neoenergia, uses electric trucks to carry out maintenance and construction work on electricity grids in the country. In just over a year, the company's fleet of electric trucks has travelled 29,000 kilometres in the cities of Limeira, Mairiporã, and in the interior of São Paulo.
The initiative, which reinforces Iberdrola's commitment to sustainable mobility, is a Research, Development and Innovation project that forms part of the investment strategy to develop electric mobility in Brazil in different areas.
The initiatives developed include the implementation of a control system through telemetry, a technology that allows remote measurement of physical magnitudes and the subsequent sending of information. By monitoring battery information automatically and in real time, it is possible to calculate the need for recharging and the points available along the route planned for the lorry.
The vehicles have been developed based on the BYD T7 truck, implementing their own characteristics according to the needs of the project. Thus, the trucks have been fitted with electro-hydraulic overhead baskets and the opportunity recharging system in the distribution network itself. The charger, installed in the body of the lorry, can be connected to predetermined points on the distributor's electrical network.
The project also includes the promotion of electric mobility in Brazil in various areas, such as the development of charging infrastructure in the country. The company is building the Green Corridor, a road of more than 1,200 kilometres between the states of Bahia and Rio Grande in which 17 charging points have been installed, 12 of which are fast charging.
"In Brazil, Neoenergia is committed to an Electric Mobility Programme that includes projects to expand the electric vehicle charging infrastructure and develop new solutions. With our electric truck, we have not only contributed to the creation of a new national product, but we have also innovated in the management of recharging and achieved a safe and efficient recharging system in the network itself," says Renato Morais, Corporate Fleet Manager at Neoenergia.
Decarbonisation of the economy
Iberdrola is committed to the electrification of transport as part of its strategy for the transition to a decarbonised economy. As part of its drive for sustainable mobility, in July the company and the Business Association for the Development and Promotion of Electric Mobility (AEDIVE) created the first alliance for the electrification of heavy road transport in Spain.
This is the first initiative that brings together all the sectors involved in the electrification of heavy road transport: manufacturers, charging infrastructure, logistics operators and end customers.
Its aim is to accelerate the decarbonisation of heavy road transport and combat climate change. At the same time, it aims to improve fuel efficiency, limit high fuel consumption, and reduce the cost for logistics operators and the country.
