Volvo's First Electric Haul Truck Goes to Work in Norway
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- Leonhard Nilsen & Sønner AS (LNS) deployed the first Volvo A30 Electric haulers at Norway's Hafslund hydropower project's Hemsil 3 site, with two trucks currently in service.
- Project Site Manager Steffen Solstrand Ludvigsen said the tunnel work with blasting cycles creates natural charging windows between runs, calling electric haulers "particularly well suited" to the job.
- Hafslund Kraft Project Manager Lars Oust framed the electric haulers as part of an effort to drive client-side demand for zero-emission construction tech rather than wait for it to mature.
- The Hafslund project, set for completion in 2029, is expected to generate more than 100 GWh of renewable electricity annually, with the two A30 Electrics first assigned to building a 20 km (~12.5 mile) tunnel.
- Volvo CE quotes a 29-tonne (~64,000 lb) payload, a 245 kWh li-ion battery promising a "full day" per charge, and a 350 kW (~470 hp) motor producing well over 200,000 lb-ft of peak wheel torque.
- Volvo unveiled the A30 Electric at last year's Bauma construction expo, making this rollout — within roughly a year — one of the fastest concept-to-customer transitions for a heavy electric construction machine.
Why it matters: A roughly 12-month gap from Bauma reveal to working trucks is unusually fast for a 30-ton electric machine, and Hafslund's willingness to be the launch customer shows client-led pull for zero-emission haulers in enclosed, high-safety tunnel work where diesel fumes are a known hazard.
