Circle K says the new infrastructure means significantly increased accessibility for electric HGVs in areas where electrification had previously been neglected.
Commenting on the news, Lennart Olsson, who is responsible or electric HGV charging at Circle K, said:
“We are already investing heavily in charging infrastructure on a commercial basis for light traffic, but now we welcome this support that enables and accelerates our increased investment in heavy goods traffic. It is completely in line with our ambition to be ahead of the curve when it comes to electrified traffic. This investment is carried out at our manned stations, which also offer a large range of services with food, toilets and other things that make the driver’s stop along the road safe and easy. We also know that this investment provides an opportunity for many of our customers to invest in an electrified vehicle fleet.”
According to Circle K, the first steps of this electronification process shall take place where Circle K’s existing fuel stations are conveniently located. Among other things, this means stations that are around 200km away from areas that contain many road transport depots.
14 new charging stations will also be gradually built between Kiruna and Arvidsjaur from the autumn of 2022, with the aim of aiding pilot tests of electric HGVs in Sweden’s colder Northern regions.
“We had hoped that more players would be inspired by our initial collaboration with ABB in the autumn of 2021, and are very happy that it has now been fulfilled through the collaboration with Circle K. This is a directly decisive step to cut transition time from a global perspective. There is an incredible amount to be tested and now we only have seven test winters until 2030,” says Michael Lindeman, Chairman of the TestInfra Sweden AB startup.