TRIESTE – The managing director of Vega Italia (based at the Fernetti Interporto near the Port of Trieste), Herbert Salentinig, has reached Nordkapp (the North Cape), driving an electric truck in the middle of winter, proving that electric mobility can work even in the harshest conditions.
Salentinig was the first to reach Nordkapp with a Mercedes-Benz eActros, complete with truck carrier and load. Despite freezing temperatures, snow and infrastructure limits, the journey was successful. «At the wheel was an electric novice, with temperatures down to –41°C, icy roads for hundreds of kilometres, and a charging network in Northern Europe that is not always continuous. It was also a deliberate technical choice, consciously using a trailer that is not particularly favourable for this type of test», Salentinig explained.
The experience is part of the Nordkapp Challenge, a winter challenge dedicated to electric vehicles, starting from Northern Germany and finishing at the northernmost point in Europe that can be reached by road. It is not a speed race. What matters is making it to the finish, planning charging stops and managing the vehicle in extreme conditions, amid snow, ice and Arctic temperatures. The challenge is open to electric cars, motorcycles, trucks and buses. Participants travel as a group on an organised route, with no final ranking. The goal is to field-test the reliability of eMobility over long distances and to show that, even far from major hubs and with few charging points, electric can be a practical solution.
