Record altitude achieved by battery-electric truck

The team reached 6,500 meters – which it said is a new world record for e-vehicles. (Photo: Gebrüder Weiss / Anna Pocinska)

The Switzerland-based Peak Evolution team said it set a world altitude record for electric vehicles at 21,325 ft. (6,500 m) above sea level when it drove up to the western ridge of Chile’s Ojos del Salado – the highest active volcano on earth – in a battery electric truck charged with solar power.

“This is a record not only for this technology, but for our years of research work and for the very future of mobility,” said Patrik Koller, CEO, and developer at Peak Evolution. “We hope that this success will attract more attention to alternative drives and their use in mining and other demanding transport tasks.”

Logistics partner and main sponsor Gebrüder Weiss has been on board since the beginning. The company ensured the vehicle arrived safely in South America and also co-financed the venture.

“As the oldest transport and logistics company, we are committed to the future of mobility,” said Frank Haas, head of Corporate Brand Strategy & Communications at Gebrüder Weiss. “This success underlines our ongoing support for sustainable mobility projects and innovative technologies. We are delighted for the team and will now bring the record-breaking vehicle safely back to Switzerland.”

The team’s vehicle is a prototype based on a conventional multi-purpose Aebi VT450 transporter built by Aebi Schmidt Group. Rather than a diesel engine, however, Switzerland-based Terren Electric Drive Systems converted it to electric power with two motors and 300 V lithium-ion batteries provided by EcoVolta. Three battery packs run parallel provide the redundancy in case one pack is damaged.

Because the Ojos del Salado is located 300 km from civilization, the vehicle was supplied with solar energy. Four photovoltaic modules were permanently installed on the truck’s roof and another 16 panels were set on the ground when charging the truck.

Gebrüder Weiss transported the e-truck from Switzerland via Rotterdam and then by sea freight to Chile. Overland transport took the truck to the Atacama region in northern Chile.

The solar-powered battery-electric from Switzerland defied the most adverse conditions in Chile. (Photo: Gebrüder Weiss / Anna Pocinska)

The Peak Evolution team started at the Maricunga salt lake with the first exploratory tours and acclimatization on the mountain, at an elevation of 3,400 meters. The extreme terrain and environmental conditions of the world’s highest volcano not only put the high-tech vehicle to the test, but also put the team under extreme physical and mental strain.

“Despite these extreme conditions, our specially developed vehicle managed to drive higher than any other e-vehicle – let alone a solar-powered one,” said Koller. “We have been training for this moment for four years, so giving up was never an option.”

The three adventurers reached the first milestone at the end of November, breaking the record for e-vehicles by surpassing the 6,000-meter barrier. One week later, they reached 6,500 meters above sea level – the record height of their mission. They reached the western ridge of Ojos del Salado using only solar power.

The logistics company said will continue to support similar forward-looking projects. January will see a dress rehearsal of the Austrian Space Forum’s Mars mission take place at the Gebrüder Weiss site in Maria Lanzendorf near Vienna, Austria. The company will also test an autonomous truck next year and send an international research team to Greenland to gain important insights into climate change.