Volvo Trucks Opens a Battery Assembly Green Plant for Its Heavy-Duty Electric Trucks

An important step on the road towards that goal, its first battery assembly plant is starting to take shape.

Volvo Trucks hit a milestone when it comes to e-truck development with the opening of its first battery assembly plant, located in Ghent, Belgium. This is where the battery packs for its heavy-duty electric range (comprised of the Volvo FH, Volvo FM, and Volvo FMX) will be produced.

According to the manufacturer, cells and modules from Samsung SDI will be used to obtain battery packs that are tailor-made for the Volvo e-trucks. "By integrating the battery assembly process in our production flow, we can shorten lead times for our customers and secure high-performing batteries, while at the same time increase circularity," said Roger Alm, President of Volvo Trucks.

Sustainability and circular economy are important concepts for the company, reflected in the fact that the batteries were designed to be later remanufactured, refurbished, and reused, while the facility itself is powered exclusively by renewable energy.

Customers will be able to decide on the number of batteries they prefer for their fleet of e-trucks, depending on their range and capacity needs. A single truck battery truck has a capacity of 90 kWh, and the maximum number of battery packs for a Volvo e-truck is six, taking the capacity to 540 kWh.

Series production for these three heavy-duty fully-electric trucks is set to kick off in Europe by the end of this year. The manufacturer has already secured a significant order of 44 e-trucks in Europe from DHL Parcel UK and DHL Freight. Last year, it also secured a large order in the U.S., for its Volvo VNR Electric Class 8 trucks.