Denmark's largest producer of ready-mixed concrete, Unicon, has officially launched the world's first serial produced electric truck mixer on 29 September. The launch marks not only a new milestone in Unicon's conversion of its fleet, which already counts the country's only hybrid and HVO-powered truck mixers, but also a major step for the entire industry towards more sustainable buildings.

“We are extremely proud to be able to present the world's first serial produced electric truck mixer which will be crucial for more sustainable distribution of ready-mixed concrete, the most used building material in the world” explains Jan Søndergaard Hansen, Managing Director of Unicon. 

The launch of the electric truck mixer is an extension of the fact that Unicon in August 2020 was able to send Denmark's first and only hybrid concrete trucks on the roads, after which several HVO-powered concrete trucks also followed. Thus, Unicon is taking a big step towards a completely emission-free truck fleet after several years of intensive development work in collaboration with Volvo Trucks and Liebherr-Mischtechnik.

“One of Unicon’s core ambitions is to make a standard use of CO2-reduced solutions, which is why we hope that our emission-free concrete truck will benefit both our customers and the cities we drive in” says Jan Søndergaard Hansen.

The new electric truck mixer will make an important contribution to emission-free construction sites in Denmark, which is one of the key recommendations from the government's climate partnership for the construction sector. In addition to emission-free unloading of concrete on construction sites, the electric truck mixer also ensures a better working environment, as the noise level is halved and comes down to normal conversation level while the unloading takes place.  

“In addition to being able to contribute to our own goals within sustainability, it is also important for us as a company to be able to contribute to emission-free construction sites in Denmark.  A general improvement of the working environment in construction forms a vital part of our way of looking at sustainability as a whole, which is why this is also one of the main points in our 2030 roadmap towards more sustainable production of ready-mixed concrete” says the Unicon Managing Director.

Last year, Unicon presented its 2030 roadmap towards a more sustainable production and delivery of ready-mixed concrete. Among the main initiatives are a significant CO₂ reduction, recycling of raw materials on an industrial scale, emission-free transport and zero work accidents. 

In that light, the new emission-free truck mixer plays an important role in the pursuit of Unicon's ambitious sustainability goals. 

“Concrete is an indispensable material in the construction industry, and it will be so in the future. That is why we want to take the lead and create more sustainable solutions that can bring both ourselves and the construction industry as a whole in a greener direction. We cannot just have low-carbon concrete on the shelves. The green transition applies to all parts of the organization and the value chain, and here CO2-reduced transport is an important focus area in our 2030 roadmap towards more sustainable concrete production and delivery” says Jan Søndergaard Hansen. 

Unicon is Denmark's oldest and largest producer and supplier of ready-mixed concrete with 35 factories and more than 400 employees throughout the country.  It produces around 1 million cubic meters of concrete annually and has an own fleet of 195 trucks. Unicon is part of the Aalborg Portland Group, the Danish subsidiary of Cementir Holding N.V.