United Utilities gets four new Volvo FM Electrics under Electric Freightway ZEHID consortium

Replacing older diesel trucks, the new vehicles will use electricity created from the company’s CHP (combined heat and power) generators, which harness gas produced through anaerobic digesters. 

John Blackmore, head of bioresource and energy operations at United Utilities, said: “As part of our sustainability and decarbonisation targets, United Utilities has set a challenging ambition to transition to an alternatively fuelled fleet. We have looked at a number of different alternative fuel types such as biomethane, hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and now electric, undertaking trials, analysis and modelling to help inform what fits best for each of our different applications.

“Volvo has been a trusted partner in this process and the new FM Electrics are the latest step on this journey. We can’t wait to see how they bed in.”

Supplied by Paul McNicholas, customer solutions manager at Thomas Hardie Commercials, the trucks are equipped with six batteries and three electric motors with 666hp and 2,400Nm of continuous torque. On a single charge, the FM Electrics are expected to have a range of 300km, enough to work on the route United Utilities has selected. The trucks will collect sludge cake from regional dewatering feeder sites and move it to the firm’s bioresource centre in Manchester for anaerobic digestion.

Blackmore said: “Our sites, located across the North West, are accessed by different road networks and geography which provides a good test bed for the electric trucks. The trucks will be double shifted, working up to seven days a week. They will have access to recharging points at our flagship Manchester site 24 hours a day.”

The trucks are on a Volvo gold repair and maintenance contract and are expected to cover around 75,000 miles annually.