Designwerk equips Basel with electric refuse collection vehicles

The Civil Engineering Office of the Canton Basel City intends to convert nine-tenths of its fleet to electric vehicles within the next five years. A total of twelve large refuse collection vehicles are now to be replaced by electric vehicles of the commercial vehicle brand Futuricum of the Winterthur design plant will be replaced, informs Designwerk in a Communication. According to its own information, this means that the electromobility company has received the largest Swiss order to date for the supply of electric commercial vehicles.

The twelve refuse collection vehicles ordered by the city canton of Basel are Collect 26E refuse collection vehicles of the Futuricum commercial vehicle brand. Their basic chassis comes from partner company Volvo TrucksFor the superstructures, which are also electrically operated, Designwerk draws on the Contena-Ochsner AG back from the Limmat Valley.

The Collect 26E's consumption of 190 kilowatt hours per 100 kilometers in collection mode corresponds to a diesel equivalent of 19.6 liters per 100 kilometers, Designwerk explains in the statement. According to her, by contrast, the diesel vehicles used by emergency services in the canton of Basel-Stadt have an average consumption of 90 liters per 100 kilometers. "Considered over the entire life cycle of acquisition, maintenance and operation," the electric sweepers are "almost as expensive as diesel vehicles." The higher initial investment is offset by "around 80 percent" lower operating costs.

The first two electric refuse collectors are to be delivered by the end of this year. The canton plans to receive ten more vehicles by mid-2021. The new electronic refuse collection vehicles can be charged at a total of seven locations operated by the municipal cleaning and civil engineering departments.