Volvo wins at Le Mans – electric semi debunks range myths ahead of 24h
In a big win for Volvo at Le Mans, Danish engineering company Danfoss put its Volvo FM electric Class 8 truck on an 800 mile haul to this year’s 24 hour sports car race to help debunk myths about heavy duty electric vehicles.
In a bid to educate the public about the range and capabilities of heavy duty electric trucks in the real world, engineering group Danfoss Power Solutions drove one of its electric trucks from the company’s headquarters in Nordborg, Denmark, to Le Mans, France in time for the start of this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race.
The Danfoss-owned Volvo FM Electric joined 47 other electric vehicles on the 1300 km journey (over 800 miles), which event organizer and Danish electric vehicle (EV) charging company GodEnergi called, “the world’s biggest electric road trip.”
“By participating in this event, we aim to prove that electric vehicles are built for endurance and can go the distance,” said Roy Chen, president of the Editron division at Danfoss Power Solutions.
Danfoss’ Volvo is part of the company’s fully electric truck fleet, which operates nearly 24 hours a day, transporting cargo between its production facilities and logistical sites.
The truck uses several essential Danfoss components, such as the Editron ED3 onboard charger with electric power take-off (ePTO), which enables rapid overnight and opportunity charging using readily available utility outlets. The Volvo has also been fitted with Danfoss-produced Semikron SKAI high-voltage traction inverters – modifications that Danfoss and the convoy’s organizers believe echoe the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance racers.
“We are 115 participants [in 48 vehicles] in this road trip who love motorsport and cars and at the same time want to prove that it is possible to cover long distances in electric vehicles,” said Jan Darville, CEO of GodEnergi. “The technology and the opportunities are there.”
Electrek’s Take
An 800 mile all-electric road trip to check out the new hybrid Ferraris and Porsches race at Le Mans? That sounds fun on its own. Combine that with a big sleeper Volvo and throw in free charging and a pack of like-minded buddies to tailgate with and it sounds perilously close to an ideal weekend!
As if reading my mind, the Danfoss rep said they had an agreement with charging provider GodEnergi that would allow the truck to charge for free using their chargers during the trip – but the deal went beyond providing electric fuel for the convoy’s vehicles. “All aspects of the road trip are electrified,” Chen says. “… participants will rely on power from the cars for their camp, including cooking on electric grills.”
Yes, please. Danfoss – you know how to find us for 2025!
SOURCES | IMAGES: Danfoss; Power Progress.
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Climate XChange’s 9th Annual EV Raffle is your chance to win the electric car of your dreams – from Rivian to Tesla to Porsche and more!
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Climate XChange EV Raffle rules summary
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China just connected its largest single-capacity solar farm built on a former coal mining area, which is in the Gobi Desert, to the grid.
The Mengxi Blue Ocean Photovoltaic Power Station, located in Otog Front Banner, Ordos, Inner Mongolia, came online on November 5. With a massive installed capacity of 3 gigawatts (GW) and over 5.9 million solar panels, the plant will generate around 5.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually – enough to power 2 million households.
This huge project will save about 1.71 million tons of standard coal each year and cut carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 4.7 million tons, which is equivalent to planting 62,700 hectares (around 155,000 acres) of trees.
Built on coal mining subsidence land, Mengxi Blue Ocean is part of China’s national West-East Electricity Transfer Project, which brings investment and development to western China west while supplying the growing need for electricity in the eastern provinces.
The solar farm includes the country’s first large-scale outdoor solar testing base in the Gobi Desert climate, demonstrating the potential for large solar installations in challenging environments.
The power station makes use of new rare earth alloy grounding materials, cutting costs by 40%. It also replaces traditional concrete foundations with steel to minimize impact on the local grassland ecosystem.
Chuang Xihong, deputy director of the Engineering Construction Department of Guodian Power Group, CHN Energy’s parent company, explained that Mengxi Blue Ocean is an agrivoltaic project as well [via PV Tech]:
Fine forage and sand-fixing plants are planted under the PV modules, providing grazing for Australian White Sheep and chickens. A composite ecological development model will be established where PV power generation and breeding will go hand in hand.
Read more: China powers up the world’s largest open-sea offshore solar farm
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