Electric-powered timber lorries to be tested in three-year trial project

Electric-powered lorries will take to the roads as part of a three-year trial which could help pave the way for them to replace polluting diesel trucks in Scotland’s forestry industry.

Scottish Forestry has awarded £452,000 for the trial, which will test the use of the wagons to transport timber.

About seven million tonnes of wood are harvested from Scotland’s forests each year and transported to sawmills, board manufacturers and other processors, mostly on 44-tonne diesel lorries.

Mairi Gougeon, Holyrood’s rural affairs secretary, said the sector was “vital to helping Scotland achieve its net-zero target by 2045”.

“Around 7.6 million tonnes of harmful CO2 is taken out of the atmosphere from Scotland’s trees each year and the timber used in houses and other wooden products lock away carbon for its lifetime,” the MSP said, who added she looked forward to hearing more about the findings.

As part of the trial, James Jones & Sons, which is one of the largest sawmill groups in the country, will trial a 40-tonne articulated lorry from their mill in Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, to transport timber to their national distribution centre in nearby Hangingshaw.

And Scotlog Haulage will test a 44-tonne truck in the Scottish Highlands, moving roundwood timber from Inverness Harbour to West Fraser and other local mills.

During the three-year trial, the vehicles will be evaluated for their achievable mileage compared to their battery consumption, durability, viability and total cost of ownership.

The two Volvo electric timber vehicles are being manufactured in Gothenburg, Sweden, and are expected to be ready for use this summer.

Neil Stoddart, director of Creel Maritime, which is managing the project, said: “This is a very exciting project but there are big challenges in running articulated lorries on electric power, mainly on cost grounds and infrastructure.

“This three-year trial will look into all these aspects and I’m keen to share as much detail on this with the industry.”