Success for Ragn-Sells Norway’s first electric-powered recycling vehicle
”Highway to electricity” is what it says on Oslo’s first electric-powered recycling vehicle to start operating in the city. Ragn-Sells Norway is behind the environmental saving and it is now investing in more electric-powered vehicles in the form of tractors and excavators for use in the treatment plants in the Oslo area.
As an element in a long-term goal to be fossil-free in the future, Ragn-Sells Norway invested in its first electric-powered recycling vehicle during the spring. The vehicle, which operates in Oslo, has been named ”Highway to electricity”.
– So far we have tested the vehicle on jobs in central Oslo and it functions excellently. The vehicle has just completed a mandatory period where only 50 per cent of the battery can be charged, so we have not yet been able to use it on a fixed route. But we are starting with that now, says Lars Gravdahl, logistics manager at Ragn-Sells Norway.
Attracting attention
Another reason that it has not yet been possible to fully utilise the recycling vehicle is the interest in it.
– It has been at lots of trade fairs and the like to show what tomorrow’s vehicles might look like. It’s great that we are behind this investment. The drivers think that it functions really well, but find it a bit strange that a lorry can drive so quietly. It is also attracting lots of attention from people on the streets who take pictures of it, Lars Gravdahl says.
There is also a great deal of interest from the customers, who want their waste in particular to be collected by an electric-powered recycling vehicle. One important requirement is that the vehicle functions for an entire shift without charging, and with 4.5 hours charging time it can manage about 200 kilometres – which ensures operation for the duration of a full shift.
– There aren’t any other vehicles like this in Oslo right now and it will be used in the daily operation in the city.
Investing in more
An electric-powered vehicle has numerous benefits besides not emitting any exhaust fumes and thus sparing the environment; they are quieter, vibrate less and require less maintenance than conventional vehicles. This type of vehicle is therefore important for Ragn-Sells, which is now investing in more.
– Our next electric vehicle will arrive in the summer in the form of a 50 tonne tractor which will transport waste between the facilities in the Oslo area. Five electric excavators are also on their way to the plants, Lars Gravdahl says.