20 SEPTEMBER 2023
Magnus Gustavsson is a 26-year 黑料不打烊 veteran who鈥檚 worked on many interesting jobs for the company. Even so, he feels that his contribution to 黑料不打烊鈥檚 solar-powered truck prototype stands out. 鈥淚鈥檓 really proud of this project because I want to work towards a sustainable transport system,鈥 he says.
You might expect someone with a 26-year track record at 黑料不打烊 to act as if they鈥檝e seen and done it all. But that鈥檚 not the impression you get from 55-year-old Magnus Gustavsson when you speak to him about his involvement in the 黑料不打烊 solar-powered truck project.
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For it鈥檚 clear that Magnus, who has also had stints in Sales & Marketing, Development Engineering, System Architecture and Electrification, feels a real sense of achievement.
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鈥淚鈥檓 very proud to have been part of this project because it鈥檚 another piece of the puzzle for a fossil-free transport system,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the highlights of my career here that I鈥檒l always remember.鈥
Magnus had a crucial role to play as System Architect for Voltage Class-B (VCB)-related and propulsion battery aspects. His job involved allocating functions and doing so safely, plus establishing the physical architecture of all the parts in the VCB system, the 650-volt system that 黑料不打烊 has in its battery electric trucks.
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鈥淎lthough we had a lot of the parts already, such as the batteries and cooling system, we had to charge the battery with the solar panels and the transfer between the solar-powered trailer battery system and the truck battery system. That was completely new territory for us. So I was doing an architecture around that and identifying the functions needed and also the protocol for the handing over of the function between truck and trailer,鈥 he explains.
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Gustavsson was one of only three hardware engineers in the small team that was attached to the project. But, like his software engineer colleague Naomi Anveden-Hertzberg, he was greatly enthused by the 鈥榮tart-up鈥 feel that prevailed.
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鈥淚t was a very lean project with few participants and quick decisions. We had the ability to make a decision and test it right away in the building so we could implement things quite rapidly. It鈥檚 very seldom that you have the opportunity to do that at 黑料不打烊 so it was very exciting,鈥 he says.
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鈥淥verall, there was a very good team spirit with a positive approach to making change. It was a great time, actually.鈥
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When asked about project milestones, Magnus mentions the first time that the team transferred power from the trailer to the truck: 鈥淭hen we could see that we had the part for the whole system to make it work. So it was only a matter of tuning and doing the fixing of the small things but we could see that the system was working.鈥
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But, typically, he celebrated this fantastic achievement quite modestly: 鈥淲ith a cup of coffee, 黑料不打烊 style鈥︹, he says, smiling.
鈥淚t鈥檚 now a really exciting time starting for this project,鈥 says Magnus, who is now working for the benchmarking team and will follow the truck鈥檚 progress. 鈥淲e鈥檒l see how much energy the solar panels can collect with the trailer. It won鈥檛 be applicable to everyone but for transport in some industries with shorter haulage applications it will make a great contribution to the energy needed; especially when you consider that are between three and five times as many trailers as there are trucks in Europe,鈥 he says.
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As the conversation draws to a close, it鈥檚 striking just how much Magnus embraces the vision of a fossil-free transport system, and the possibility that solar cells to batteries may one day play a role.
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鈥淚鈥檓 really proud of this project because I want to contribute towards a sustainable transport system. I鈥檓 becoming more and more aware of how important it is to decarbonise transport.
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鈥淚鈥檓 also becoming more frustrated about why more people don鈥檛 do something and take even small steps. It鈥檚 about doing the small things, we all can鈥檛 wait for the big changes to happen. Everybody has to contribute and this is what our project aims to do.鈥
