Solar-Powered Electric Truck Sets An Altitude Record For EVs Reaching 21,325 Feet Above Sea Level

EVs are the future, and everyone is trying really hard to make a statement about the viability of hard tasks. While we've seen automakers choose hypermiling to prove long-range usability and efficiency, a Swiss logistics company decided to scale new heights, quite literally, to prove its point. Gebrüder Weiss, a transport and logistics firm, set a new record for EVs with its electric truck called Terren reaching a height of 21,325 feet above sea level. That's the highest recorded height any EV has gone up to so far. 

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The altitude record was made on the western ridge of Ojos del Salado in Chile. The mountain range has the highest active volcano in the world and is also a hotbed for other automakers to attempt attitude records. More recently, the Porsche 911 with portal axles set a record of climbing up to 22,093 feet. While the 911 running on synthetic fuel was about a little over a thousand feet higher, the electric truck holds its own, especially in the world of EVs.  

How did Terren achieve this? The electric rig was specially developed by Aebi Schmidt, a Swiss company that specialises in agricultural machinery and heavy equipment. The Terren is a prototype based on the Aebi VT450 Transporter and is equipped with a 90 kWh battery that promises about 200 km on a single charge. The production version will get an even larger 140 kWh battery pack that should offer an even better range. 

The Terren prototype is powered by two electric motors that have a combined output of 380 bhp. It's also retrofitted with solar panels spanning 86 sq.ft. to charge the batteries on the move. Do note the Ojos del Salado mountain is far from any civilisation, which made the solar panels all the more important. The company also fitted an additional 301 sq.ft. of mobile photovoltaics that would be used during the sunny hours. This allowed the team to travel about 150 km over a charging time of five hours. 

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It was a slow process, though, with the Terren electric truck. The journey to the top began at the Maricunga salt lake at 11,154 feet by doing exploratory tours. It achieved the first milestone in November this year after breaking the 6,000-metre altitude. The next 500 metres to reach 21,325 feet (6,500 metres) would take another week. 

The Terren isn't the first EV to set an altitude record. The electric truck managed to beat the previous record of 19,081 feet set by the Volkswagen ID.4 GTX. The German electric SUV set the record at the Uturuncu volcano in Quetena Chico, Bolivia.