The Switzerland-based Gebrüder Weiss Peak Evolution Team has set a new world altitude record for electric vehicles at 6,500m above sea level.
Comprising international transport and logistics company Gebrüder Weiss and electric vehicle (EV) developer Peak Evolution, the team’s e-truck – powered entirely by solar energy – successfully scaled the western side of the highest active volcano on earth, Ojos del Salado in Chile.
Gebrüder Weiss transported the e-truck from Switzerland via Rotterdam in the Netherlands and then by sea freight to Chile. Another overland transport took the solar truck to the Atacama region.
The Peak Evolution team started at the Maricunga salt lake with the first exploratory tours and acclimatisation on the mountain, at an elevation of 3,400m.
The extreme terrain and environmental conditions of the world’s highest volcano not only put the high-tech vehicle to the test, but also placed the team under extreme physical and mental strain.
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CEO and developer at Peak Evolution, Patrik Koller, said: “This is a record not only for this technology, but for our years of research work and for the very future of mobility.
“We hope that this success will attract more attention to alternative drives and their use in mining and other demanding transport tasks.
“Despite these extreme conditions, our specially developed vehicle managed to drive higher than any other e-vehicle – let alone a solar-powered one.”
The company also plans to test an autonomous truck in 2024 and send an international research team to Greenland to gain insights into climate change.
Head of corporate brand strategy and communications at Gebrüder Weiss, Frank Haas, said: “This success underlines our ongoing support for sustainable mobility projects and innovative technologies.
“We are delighted for the team and will now bring the record-breaking vehicle safely back to Switzerland.”
Achievements and innovations in e mobility will be celebrated at the third annual CiTTi Awards, which will be held on 26 November 2024 at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Nominations officially open in March 2024. Please visit www.cittiawards.co.uk to learn more about this unmissable event for the UK’s transportation sector.
