TRANSPORT SPECIALIST TVO IS READY FOR SOLAR CELLS
Transport Van Overveld (TVO) has been transporting goods since 1988. Where they started in Italy, they now focus on the whole of southern Europe with Spain as their biggest market. With a large fleet of as many as 145 trucks, loads including wine and olive oil are transported from southern to northern Europe.
Too hot in the cabin
In southern Europe, it can reach 40 degrees in summer. This means it can become unpleasant for drivers to sit in the cab. “Some of TVO’s drivers mainly drive at night and sleep during the day,” says Serge van Kalmthout, TVO’s fleet manager. “When the drivers are stationary they eat and watch TV before going to bed. This all happens with the air conditioning on. Then they consume a lot of battery capacity which they later run out of to keep the truck cool. Or the driver leaves the engine idling which then costs diesel and is bad for the environment. This is where we were looking for a solution.”
Comfort, safety and durability
On 1 June this year, Micael Broos, key account manager at PartsXpert AVT, organised an information evening about Green Energy’s products at a workshop in Roosendaal. “With a BBQ and drinks, we let Green Energy tell the story that evening. This was attended by TVO, among others. We want to realise the best for the customer. That is why we sat down afterwards with TVO and Green Energy to, among other things, visualise the savings and put everything in motion,” Micael says. Meanwhile, 20 sets of solar cells for trucks and five sets of solar cells for refrigerated trailers have been purchased. This way, the cabins will be kept cool, allowing the driver to sleep well which also promotes sharpness on the road. In addition, the solar cells on the refrigerated trailers keep the cargo cooled, so the quality of the products is not harmed. Finally, it is of course a sustainable solution for battery charging. Instead of running the engine, the battery now charges via the solar cells.
Towards a sustainable and sunny future
The purchased solar cells are now being mounted on the trucks. This also applies to the newly purchased trucks. The trailers have been fitted with solar cells for some time. Drivers can use the Green Energy app to see if the battery is full. If the solar cells show good results then TVO will consider adding solar cells in the standard equipment on the new trucks. Besides the solar cells for the trucks, TVO is already working hard on sustainability. “With our 1,500 solar panels on the roof and LNG trucks, we are already very future-oriented,” says Serge. “For now, the trips are too long to do that with electric trucks, but should that be a possibility in the future, we are ready for that. For now, we can only hope for a lot of sunshine so that our solar cells work optimally.”
