For around five weeks, engineers tested the electric truck at high temperatures of up to 44 degrees Celsius in Andalusia in southern Spain.
The scope of testing ranged from the functionality of the air conditioning system at high temperatures to the performance of the electric powertrain and battery thermal management to measurements during charging processes at rapid charging stations.
After completion of the tests, a prototype also completed the over 2,000-kilometer return from Granada via Valencia, Barcelona, Montpellier and Lyon back to the Mercedes-Benz Trucks development and testing center in Wörth am Rhein on its own wheels.
Commenting on the test, Dr. Konrad Götz, Deputy Head of Global Testing Mercedes-Benz Trucks, said:
“We have subjected the eActros 600 to rigorous testing procedures since last year. After winter testing in Finland in freezing cold temperatures down to minus 25 degrees Celsius and initial tests on public roads, the electric truck now had to prove itself at over 40 degrees Celsius in Spain. The eActros 600 mastered the challenging tests with ease. In the next step, we’re now looking forward to testing in real-life operation with our customers.”
Three battery packs provide the eActros 600 with an installed total capacity of over 600 kWh in series production and two electric motors as part of the new e-axle generate a continuous output of 400 kW as well as a peak output of over 600 kW.
In addition to the tractor unit, Mercedes-Benz Trucks will also produce rigid variants of the eActros 600 right at market launch. This, says the truck manufacturer, will offer customers numerous other possible use cases in fully electric transport.
Mercedes-Benz Trucks adds that the eActros 600 has been designed to meet the same durability requirements as its comparable conventional heavy long-distance Actros. That means 1.2 million kilometers on the road over a period of ten years.
The developers of Mercedes-Benz Trucks aim for the batteries of the production eActros 600 to be capable of being charged from 20 to 80 percent in under 30 minutes at a charging station with an output of about one megawatt.
On October 10, the eActros 600 will celebrate its world premiere, while the vehicle is planned to be ready for series production in 2024.