Volvo Penta has commenced production of bespoke electric drivelines for vehicle manufacturer Rosenbauer’s new fire truck.

Volvo Penta and its customer Rosenbauer adapted proven technology from Volvo Trucks and Volvo Buses to create a completely new vehicle architecture. The new truck, named Revolutionary Technology (RT), pushed Volvo Penta’s electric drivelines to new heights. Unlike other Volvo Group EVs that might have two or three electric machines, the RT required four to do its job. All four electric machines have to be able to run simultaneously—two for propulsion, one for a range extender to provide extra battery power, and one for power takeoff for such applications as rotating the foam pump.

Due to the required compact dimensions of a city fire truck, Volvo Penta created a new Active Cooling Unit, in collaboration with Rosenbauer. The new ACU draws on a 600 V system instead of the conventional 24 V, and this extra power is used not only to cool the batteries, but also to offer cooling capacity to the vehicle.

Three test fire trucks powered by Volvo Penta electric drivelines have already been delivered to Berlin, Amsterdam and Dubai. Crews have been amazed at the many advantages of not having a large diesel engine, including increased crew cabin space and more side panel storage.

The first electric drivelines have now 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.

“We announced our partnership with Rosenbauer in 2019, and we have gone from concept to start of production in record time,” says Giorgio Paris, President of Volvo Penta Industrial. “We have developed strong working relationships with our customers over many years, which is key in the transformation towards more sustainable and new technology solutions. By working closely on different applications and in an array of sectors we can develop solutions that are reliable, safe, and create value, with the aim to bring an electromobility platform to our customers.”

Source: Volvo Penta