Tesco is to pioneer the use of heavy electric trucks to supply food and other products to its distribution centre in Wales, in a move that would mark the first commercial use of fully electric articulated heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) in the UK.
The supermarket chain plans to trial two new 37-tonne DAF electric vehicles to move merchandise from Wentloog rail terminal near Cardiff to its distribution centre in Magor as part of a partnership with freight forwarding company FSEW.
Tesco estimates that rolling out the two lorries could replace around 65,000 diesel-fuelled road miles with clean green energy, thereby removing around 87.4 tonnes of CO2e per year.
Heavy goods vehicles currently make up around 16 percent of the UK’s domestic transport carbon emissions. While improved battery and transmission technology has advanced electric power in smaller commercial vehicles, haulage operators have been wary of electricity for their heaviest trucks.
To power the new service, FSEW has installed charging points at its site in South Wales that should provide enough energy to power large vehicles for 100 miles at a time.
At around 30 miles each way, the journey between the two Welsh distribution hubs will be used as an ideal testbed for understanding the potential and range of EV trucks for introduction elsewhere in Tesco’s fleet.
Tesco announced last year that 17 EV vans based in Glasgow would lead the transition to the chain’s all-electric delivery.
Tesco CEO Jason Tarry said EV adoption is linked to the supermarket’s other enhanced sustainability measures, including investing in nine new wind and solar farms across the UK.
