Volta runs out of spark after battery supplier falls flat

Volta Trucks, the Swedish electric commercial vehicle disruptor aiming to release the world’s first purpose-built battery-fuelled delivery truck, will be wound up after one of its suppliers filed for bankruptcy protection in the US.

The reason? Volta said the bankruptcy protection proceedings started by its California-based battery supplier, Proterra, meant it would fall well short of the production targets it had set, which in turn had severely affected its ability to convince investors to keep propping up the business.

Volta signed a deal with Proterra in 2021 to supply the batteries for the Volta Zero, a 16.0-tonne commercial vehicle that would launch the company on the global stage.

The Proterra battery would have given the Volta Zero a real-world range of around 200km on a single charge – enough range, according to Volta, to be “more than enough for most inner city logistics and distribution vehicles, which spend most of their operating time in slow-moving start/stop traffic”.

It would also have helped Volta launch a range of four commercial vehicles ranging from 7.5 tonnes and 19.0 tonnes by the end of 2025.

Proterra was already supplying liquid-cooled batteries that were used in public transport services in the US, making it an ideal supplier for Volta. In August, Proterra announced it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in an attempt to bail itself out of losses that had more than quadrupled to $US243 million ($A340 million) over the first three months of the financial year.

According to Volta Trucks, it had accomplished a great deal from a standing start in 2019, revolutionising commercial vehicle operations for a sustainable future.

“We created the world’s first purpose-built 16.0-tonne all-electric truck, including a unique cab and chassis design, that would have contributed to decarbonising the environment and enhanced the health and safety and air quality of urban centres,” it said in a statement announcing the decision to close its doors.

“Piloting in five countries in Europe, we received fantastic feedback, which led to a strong pipeline of highly reputed customers who wanted to introduce our Volta Zero trucks into their fleets.

“However, like all scale-ups in the EV manufacturing sector, Volta Trucks has faced challenges along the way,” it said.

Then came the hard bit.

“With deep and sincere regret, the [Volta Trucks] board has therefore taken the difficult decision to take steps to file for bankruptcy proceedings in Sweden.

“The main trading entity of the Group, Volta Trucks Limited, will shortly file for administration in England, with insolvency practitioners from Alvarez & Marsal anticipated to take office.

“Other group entities will also shortly file for insolvency proceedings in the relevant jurisdictions.”

The decision to wind up Volta Trucks comes just as the company was gaining traction with real-world trials of the technology, including in the all-important US market.

The electric truck was also going to revolutionise the way that drivers interacted with the Volta Zero, developing artificial intelligence that would monitor real-time data from sensors placed around the vehicle and feed it back to the driver in a way that would help to minimise risk to other road users.

This included suggesting a “maximum prudent speed” that would take into account factors such as the speed limit, road roughness, topography of the road, weather conditions, and traffic.