Electrifying transport in the forestry sector

The forestry sector accounts for almost 20 percent of Sweden's road freight transport, making it Sweden's largest buyer of road transport. Every year, around two million road transports are carried out with diesel vehicles, resulting in significant carbon dioxide emissions*. Now forestry road transport is to be electrified. This is a major system change for an entire industry, which is being driven by Skogforsk together with KTH, Scania and 18 other project partners. Together with Fordonsstrategisk Forskning och Innovation, FFI, Vinnova, they are investing SEK 155 million in the TREE project – which can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by around 260,000 tonnes per year**.

Many pieces need to fall into place to reach the goal, including issues of electricity and charging, and the impact on drivers and traffic planning. Today, it is most efficient to keep diesel-powered vehicles moving as much as possible. However, with the shift to electrification, new challenges arise such as the need for charging breaks, access to electricity and changing driver behaviour.

"Charging the logging trucks and transport planning are two important pieces of the puzzle in this large project," says Gunilla Ölundh Sandström , Associate Professor at KTH, who focuses on business models within TREE. "Some haulage companies will suddenly need to build new partnerships with actors they have not previously had contact with”.

Despite a few obstacles, the industry agreed that 50 percent of all new trucks bought by the forestry industry in 2030 to be electrified. In seven locations from Småland to Västerbotten, forestry companies, transport companies, technology developers and transport planners are gathering to shape 'pilot sites'. At each site, one or several electric vehicles will be used, and technology, policies and planning will be developed over time. These sites act as hubs for knowledge building, research and innovation in vehicle technology, electricity and charging, transport planning, business models and systems understanding. And because the sites work with different forest products (such as wood chips and timber), there can be different conditions for success in electrification. One thing is clear: for an entire industry to transform, major changes are required at both system and technology level, as well as at company and individual level.

“In my research group at KTH, we have long experience of developing business models and driving innovation. If the industry does not find a profitable model for electrification, it will not succeed, but the will in the project is strong,” says Gunilla Ölundh Sandström.

Together with fellow researchers Jennie Björk  and Johan Arekrans , she has held a workshop with the project stakeholders and drawn up maps of the companies' existing business processes and identified obstacles and shortcomings. In the future, they will conduct interviews and surveys with transport planners, drivers and forest companies.

"One problem we can already see is that forest transport planning has previously been based on tonne-kilometres and routes," says Gunilla Ölundh Sandström. "When vehicles are charged with electricity, you need to know how long it takes to charge, where to charge, what it costs and how long it lasts in 20 degrees below zero. Route planning will have to change for the electricity to carry the timber all the way home from the forest to the warehouse”.

"Today, the business logic is based on diesel operation," adds Jennie Björk. "Electrification means major changes for many actors, not least in new business models”.

Another KTH researcher, Magnus Eneberg , focuses on behavioral change and methods to drive change.

"I will soon go out with drivers and observe their working days to understand their needs. After that I will have workshops with them to jointly create future visions of what an electrified everyday life for timber drivers could look like”.

By visualising a desired future instead of trying to understand what we think is possible, Magnus believes that we can break free from fixed thought patterns and think in new ways. 

With an open mind, the researchers say the transition could lead to entirely new product portfolios and working methods for companies. Some forestry companies may even start producing electricity and using it for their forestry machines once the charging infrastructure is in place.

KTH's researchers are experiencing great commitment from the partners in the project.

“Many have an extraordinary environmental mindset. They really want to change their transports”, says Jennie Björck.

Text: Ulrika Georgsson

*According to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, forest transport accounted for around 520,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents in 2022.

**Estimated by Skogforsk.