E-driveline for world’s first serial electric fire truck

Date: 22.07.2021

Volvo Penta has commenced production of bespoke electric drivelines for Rosenbauer’s pioneering fire truck, named Revolutionary Technology

"This is a milestone in our electrification journey. We see a growing demand for electric solutions in the market today and—through collaboration and pilot projects such as this one—we aim to meet this demand and the expectations of the future," says Giorgio Paris, president of Volvo Penta Industrial.

By adapting proven technology from Volvo Trucks and Volvo Buses, Volvo Penta and its customer Rosenbauer have introduced the world’s first electric fire truck, with a completely new vehicle architecture.

Unlike other Volvo Group EVs that might have two or sometimes three electric machines, the RT required four to do its job. All four electric machines have to be able to run simultaneously. To achieve this, the Volvo Penta engineers created a system that’s cutting edge in terms of Volvo Group technology, the company says.

Due to the required compact dimensions of a city fire truck, Volvo Penta created a new Active Cooling Unit (ACU), developed in part collaboration with Rosenbauer. The new ACU draws on a 600-volt system instead of the conventional 24-volt. This extra power allows Volvo Penta to not only cool the batteries but also offer cooling capacity to the Rosenbauer vehicle.

Three Rosenbauer test fire trucks powered by Volvo Penta electric drivelines have already successfully been delivered to Berlin, Amsterdam, and Dubai. So far, the crews have been amazed at the RT’s battery capacity and the many other advantages of not having a large diesel engine, such as increase crew cabin space and more side panel storage.

Now the first electric drivelines have entered the production stage at the Volvo Penta Vara plant in Sweden. Here, the ACU is manufactured, and the system is kitted—loaded with software and packed together—to make installation as straightforward as possible for the customer.

"The RT’s success in real-world field tests and the start of production of the electric driveline are two milestones in Volvo Penta’s electrification journey," concludes Giorgio.

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