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This week, diesel truck engine company Cummins made an unusual announcement. In addition to several new high-efficiency diesel engines, it also showed off an all-electric truck called the Concept Class 7 Urban Hauler EV. The truck is just a concept at the moment, but it's coming in the nick of time—just as Tesla is about to announce its own semi EV.
The 18,000-pound tractor cab, built by Roush, comes with a 140kWh battery and is capable of hauling a 22-ton trailer. According to Forbes, Cummins hopes to be able to sell its battery to truck and bus manufacturers by 2019. Forbes says the truck can run for 100 miles and be recharged in an hour, although Cummins is allegedly working on improving the battery so that by 2020, that recharge time is reduced to 20 minutes.
In a press release, Cummins also said that its EV would come with a diesel-engine generator that could extend the range of the battery to 300 miles, which would offer 50-percent fuel savings compared to straight diesel trucks.
Cummins' news comes just after Reuters reported that Tesla's electric semis will likely have a range of 200 to 300 miles and come with autonomous functions. The trucking industry is a major polluter, and electrification is seen as an important component in reducing greenhouse gases from that sector, in addition to implementing fuel efficiency measures.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Friday September 01 2017, @05:18PM (8 children)
They are talking about an 18,000 pound tractor, and a 44,000 pound trailer. That only adds up to 62,000 pounds, unless they are using "New Math". So, this is obviously not a full-fledged class 8 truck. Which makes me ask, "Why a trailer?" Apparently, it's a delivery truck - thus the "Urban Hauler". I suppose it might find a place in Coke, Pepsi, Cisco and similar fleets. It seems that they might sell more of their trucks in a straight truck configuration. 300 miles is kinda short range for most of the fleets that use trailers. Not extremely short, but some routes may need to be changed to make it worthwhile.
To kind of put that in perspective, commercial drivers aren't required to maintain a logbook if they don't drive more than 100 miles from their home terminal. Those drivers often drive more than 500 miles in a day. Almost all of them CAN be rerouted so that no route is 300 miles long, but there will be some juggling involved.
On the plus side, for electrics, one article I've read suggested that the company have multiple trucks for each driver. He makes a short run of 200 miles or so, comes back, and climbs in another electric truck, already loaded and ready to go, and drives another couple hundred miles. That sounds like a big investment for the trucking companies though.
(Score: 4, Informative) by frojack on Friday September 01 2017, @05:47PM
They only stated it was Class 7. They claim electric drive does not make sense for Class 8 - see Forbes link.
So think Ford F750 [ford.com] usually married to a specific dedicated rear package (box truck, garbage truck, etc).
Class 7 can be (and Ford does make) a tractor for small trailers on this size vehicle often used for in-city deliveries.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bob_super on Friday September 01 2017, @06:10PM (3 children)
Given the cost of the cabs, having to switch is not great.
When I see the giant gas tanks easily accessible on trucks, I always wonder about making batteries in that format (a giant D-cell, essentially), and swapping them at various stops that the truck has to make to refill payload (or even a twenty-minute detour, if the gas savings offset the driver pay). You could literally have a business charging those smaller batteries and meeting the trucks where they need them along their route.
For the articulated small "beer" trailers, which are branded and not commodity, or the refrigerated trailers, did someone update the math of putting solar panels on the roof? In AZ, their weight may be offset by the kWh generated, either for the truck or for the facility the trailer plugs into.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Saturday September 02 2017, @03:44AM (2 children)
In Arizona they might barely make sense, with an ROI somewhere in the 5 year range.
Solar panels just can't collect that much power in a vehicle format, the vehicle doesn't intersect enough solar radiation to make it attractive - this scales all the way from dragonfly drones up to semi trucks. Now, the ISS - that's a little different, no energy required to stay in orbit, big panels, no aero-drag...
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Sunday September 03 2017, @04:21AM (1 child)
Not as main power for trucks, but we're slowly getting there.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Solar_Challenge [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Sunday September 03 2017, @04:47AM
Key word: "Slowly." This has been the watchword of solar powered vehicles since the 1970s. Yes, progress, no - can't change the ratio between aero-drag of a reasonably shaped vehicle and the amount of solar radiation it receives.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Some call me Tim on Friday September 01 2017, @06:34PM
Don't forget the UPS and FedEx local fleets. Even some of the hub to local distribution centers could benefit. Truck arrives, plug it in while it's being unloaded/re-loaded. Now that I think about, my local hub is five miles from the airport and most of the incoming/outgoing stuff goes by air.
Questioning science is how you do science!
(Score: 2) by sjames on Saturday September 02 2017, @08:35AM (1 child)
It likely makes a lot of sense for the local leg of deliveries from air, rail, and shipping terminals.
That is likely why they called at an "urban hauler".
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday September 02 2017, @09:20AM
On a related note, I remember a time, maybe the late 80's, when quasi-official doctrine was that over the road trucking would end soon. The vision was, freight would be moved by rail and by ship, and the only trucking would be local/regional deliveries.
Alas, the United States can't run a rail system efficiently, so their vision isn't going to happen anytime soon.