Belching cows aren’t the only source of CO₂ emissions in the dairy industry. When tanker trucks collect milk from farms, they use their diesel engines to drive the pump that fills the tank.

Now Swedish technology company Semcon has partnered with Enova and Tine, a Norwegian milk distributor, to develop an electric milk pump. By installing the system, a single milk truck can reduce diesel consumption by up to 5,000 liters per year.

The battery that powers the electric motor is charged while the vehicle is in motion and also provides enough energy for defrosters, lights, windscreen wipers and other vehicle needs. Tine is planning to install the new pumps in all 250 of its vehicles.

“One of the strengths of the Semcon solution is that dairies do not need to buy new trucks,” said Hans Peter Havdal, Head of Division at Semcon. “The new technology can be implemented in vehicles they already have.”

“We will reduce our diesel consumption by 1.25 million liters per year when all our milk pumps in Norway run on electricity,” said Tine’s Frode Eggan. “This means that CO₂ emissions will be reduced by 3,200 tons each year. This investment in our climate will pay off financially as well. Our costs will be reduced by several million kroner.”

 

Source: Semcon via Green Car Congress