Scania and Northvolt have unveiled a jointly developed battery cell for heavy electric vehicles with an exceptional lifetime, capable of powering trucks for 1.5 million kilometres - equivalent to the truck's entire lifespan.

With its production powered by fossil-free electricity in northern Sweden, the carbon footprint of the battery cell is estimated to be approximately one-third of a comparative industry reference.

This achievement is the result of the successful collaboration between Scania and Northvolt, sustainability leaders who joined forces in 2017 to develop a cutting-edge battery cell for heavy commercial vehicles.

The cell is now being manufactured at the Northvolt Ett gigafactory, and Scania is also set to inaugurate a new battery factory in Södertälje, Sweden, later this year for assembling battery cells into packs for heavy-duty electric trucks, exceeding their initial performance expectations.

Peter Carlsson, CEO and Co-Founder of Northvolt, comments on the accomplishment: "At the outset of this partnership, Northvolt and Scania set an ambitious timeline for developing a high-performance battery cell to enable the electrification of heavy transport. To have successfully completed extensive development and validation phases and now be delivering cells from Northvolt Ett that exceed our initial performance expectations is truly remarkable for everyone involved."

Scania's CEO, Christian Levin, adds: "This milestone marks a significant step towards a sustainable transport system and underscores Scania's commitment to delivering premium quality. The future of heavy transport is electric, and top-performing battery cells are crucial for our electric trucks."

To meet their requirements for high performance, low operating costs, and a long lifetime, Scania initially set a target of enabling a 1.5 million-kilometre lifetime for a heavy-duty vehicle with the battery cell. However, the tests have shown that this requirement cannot only be met but also exceeded.

Levin said: "The development of the battery cell has been focused on achieving exceptional performance, low costs, and extended lifetime. The results show that we have not only met but exceeded our expectations."

As part of Northvolt's commitment to sustainability, the production of battery cells at Northvolt Ett is powered by 100% fossil-free electricity generated from hydro and wind power sources. This, along with the incorporation of other sustainable production features at Northvolt Ett, has significantly reduced the estimated carbon footprint of the battery cell at full serial production to approximately one-third of a comparative industry reference cell (IVL 2019 lithium-ion NMC 111 cell).

Levin commented: "Northvolt's mission to build the world's greenest batteries aligns perfectly with Scania's goal to drive the shift towards sustainable transport. I am eagerly looking forward to the final steps towards launching premium electric vehicles later this year."

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Source: Scania