An electric Mercedes to salt the roads

Mercedes tested the eActros 600, an electric battery truck, in Germany as part of a demanding winter service.

Autobahn GmbH, an entity owned by the German federal government, used a prototype of Mercedes’ electric truck on a section of the A2 highway between Hamm and Bielefeld with a semi-trailer supplied by Epoke. As a preventive measure against ice, Autobahn GmbH used a brine solution made of water and salt, an environmentally friendlier alternative to conventional road salt. The semi-trailer allows spreading the brine at a speed of 80 km/h across a width of 12 meters.

It is powered independently of the tractor via the rear wheel of the semi-trailer. The brine spreader is remotely operated by a wireless remote control. Tests have shown that preventative brine spreading as part of winter service operations can be perfectly controlled with electric trucks.

Road versatility according to Mercedes

The Mercedes eActros 600 designed for long-distance transportation celebrated its world premiere last October. Series production is scheduled to begin at the end of 2024. The high capacity of the over 600 kWh battery, which is reflected in the model number 600, allows the e-truck to reach a range of 500 kilometers without intermediate charging. With the current European energy mix, the eActros 600 achieves CO2 savings of about 40% compared to a comparable diesel Actros, using fully renewable energy sources. This translates to savings of approximately 370 or 775 tons of CO2. Therefore, the eActros 600 can offset its higher initial CO2 footprint from the factory with its batteries as early as the second or first year of long-distance operation.

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