ABB to supply charging infrastructure to ASKO

ABB has entered into an agreement with Norway’s largest grocery wholesaler ASKO, and its owner NorgesGruppen, to supply charging infrastructure for its growing fleet of electric trucks.

Currently, ASKO has 600 trucks on the road each day and has a goal to achieve zero emissions distribution of groceries by 2026. Financial details were not disclosed.

ABB will assist ASKO with efficient and reliable charging infrastructure for battery-electric trucks at distribution centres throughout the country. The first ABB HVC 150C (150 kW) high power chargers are already in operation at ASKO's distribution centre in Oslo. Initially, they are charging two battery electric Scania trucks, with more to follow.

“ASKO has an ambition to be sustainable and climate neutral. This means that we shall focus on energy-efficiency measures and, not least, renewable resources,” said Svein Sollie, Transport Director, at ASKO. “Our ambition requires large investments, especially in energy and transport. ASKO will be in the driver's seat in these areas and we must dare to invest - and we must be willing to pay beyond what is the requirement for a normal business return. ABB was chosen as the supplier for truck charging due to its global expertise, breadth of user cases and technical solutions.”

“ASKO's major focus on zero-emission vehicles is the most ambitious heavy vehicle fleet Norway has seen. As a global leader in e-mobility solutions, we look forward to contributing our experiences, services and charging solutions in pursuit of a more sustainable transport future,” said Frank Muehlon, Head of ABB's global business for E-mobility Infrastructure Solutions.

Overall flexibility and efficiency will be key for the solutions to work seamlessly alongside other demands on the electrical infrastructure.

Marius Aarset, Chief Technical Officer at ASKO continued: “We focus on solutions that take into account other activities such as charging electric pallet trucks, refrigeration systems and solar cells at the distribution centers in order to avoid power peaks, prediction of charging needs and optimization of the charging processes, for example in connection with loading of goods.”

ASKO has been a pioneer in zero-emission trucks in Norway. It started in Oslo in 2016 with a rebuilt truck from the Netherlands with a payload of five and a half metric tons. At the beginning of 2020, they put into operation four hydrogen-powered Scania trucks in Trondheim with a gross weight of 26 metric tons and a range of 500 kilometres. Then followed the mentioned battery electric Scania trucks in the capital with payloads of around 10 metric tons and a stated range up to 120 km. ASKO has ordered a total of 55 such Scania trucks, and was the country's first to order 10 Tesla Semi trucks. The latter will have a payload of 36,000 kilograms and range up to 800 kilometres.

ABB's chargers, part of the ABB Ability offering of digital solutions and services across all business areas, deliver web-enabled connectivity that allows network operators to perform remote monitoring and configuration of charge points, minimise downtime and increase efficiency.