Electric truck
An electric truck is an electric vehicle powered by batteries designed to deliver cargo.
Electric trucks have been around in niche application areas for over a hundred years, but more recently the advent of lithium ion batteries has enabled the range of electric trucks to increase to several hundred miles, making them of much wider applicability.
Electric trucks are becoming an alternative to traditional trucks, while creating no local pollution. Due to the high efficiency of electric power trains, running costs are expected to be lower. Their simplicity is also supposed to make maintenance costs much lower. According to the United States Department of Energy, the cost per kWh capacity of battery packs for trucks fell from $500 in 2013 to $200 in 2019.
However, electric trucks are usually heavier than diesel trucks, the energy density of lithium ion batteries is far less, so very long range trucking requires recharging en route, causing delays, or the swapping of tractor units.
Types
General trucks
A few electric general lorries prototypes or produced by small manufacturers, and often converted Diesel units, have been built until the 2000s. Trials with different companies in real-world conditions, for several months or more, have been conducted, for example with Renault, E Force and Emoss heavy-duty lorries in the 2010s. Renault launched its small electric Maxity in 2010 and Mitsubishi Fuso its slightly larger eCanter in 2017. From 2018, other major manufacturers including MAN, Mercedes-Benz and DAF began deliveries of prototypes or pre-production heavy-duty units to companies for real-world testing. In 2019, the first series production of heavy-duty lorries is expected to begin with notably Renault, Volvo and MAN.Pickup trucks
In the late 1990s, Chevrolet produced a small series of an electric S-10 pickup truck. In early 2009, Phoenix Motorcars introduced a test fleet of their all-electric SUT to Maui. Miles Electric Vehicles imported the Chinese-designed ZX40ST electric small pick-up in the United States in the late 2010s.Semi-trailer and tractor trucks
The Port of Los Angeles and South Coast Air Quality Management District have demonstrated a short-range heavy-duty all-electric truck capable of hauling a fully loaded cargo container. The current design is capable of pulling a cargo container at speeds up to and has a range of between. It uses, compared to for the hostler semi tractors it replaces.of fuel is equivalent to =33.7kwh, according to the US Department of Energy. This electric truck uses 2 kilowatt-hours per mile which is the equivalent of using only 10 kwh per every. The diesel truck that it replaces uses the equivalent of 33.7kwh per. Thus the diesel truck is using 3.37 times the amount of energy that the electric truck is using. Thus the only variables that are stopping commercial use of electric trucks are original vehicle cost and the driving range, owing to the high battery pack cost and low specific energy. As mass production happens the cost might eventually be comparable to diesel vehicles and with improvement in batteries the limited range of the electric truck might be a non issue.
Volvo, DAF, MAN, Freightliner plan to begin series production of electric articulated lorries between 2019 and 2020.
Electric tractors
Electric tractors have been built since the 1990s. BYD does make electric tractors.Milk float
A common example of the battery electric trucks is the milk float. Since it makes many stops in delivering milk it is more practical to use an electric vehicle than a combustion truck, which would be idling much of the time; it also reduces noise in residential areas. For most of the 20th century, the majority of the world's battery electric road vehicles were British milk floats.Garbage truck
With a similar driving pattern of a delivery vehicle like the milk float above, garbage trucks are excellent candidates for electric drive. Most of their time is spent stopping, starting or idling. These activities are where internal combustion engines are their least efficient. These and other factors such as ease of driver training resulted in Birmingham City Council opting to use electric dustcarts to start replacing its horse driven carts in 1918. Its use of electric vehicles continued through a number of models including Electricar DV4s until 1971. Electric Dustcarts were also operated by Sheffield and Glasgow.In preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games, 3,000 of the internal combustion engine garbage trucks in Beijing were replaced with lithium ion polymer battery pack electric drive trucks. The batteries were procured for about $3,300 each. In France, some all-electric garbage trucks produced by Power Vehicle Innovation have been operating since 2011 in the city of Courbevoie, the first local authorities in France to acquired them.
In 2014, North America became home to its own electric garbage truck. Called the ERV it hit the road in Chicago in September 2014. It was the first of an up to order for up to 20 trucks. The PO was won in a competitive bid by in 2012. The majority of the money used to purchase the first truck came from a DoE grant secured by then-Senator Barack Obama. The City of Chicago runs the Motiv ERV on different residential refuse and recycling routes of up to 60 miles, saving 2,688 gallons a year.
Chicago specified that this ERV must meet the demanding requirements placed on all of its garbage trucks. This included 60 mile range, a payload capacity of nine tons and 1000 pounds per cubic yard of compaction. These specifications make the ERV capable of use anywhere in Chicago. To supply enough electricity to move the truck and power the hydraulics all day, the ERV is equipped with 200 kilowatt-hours of energy, in ten battery packs. Full charge time is 8 hours using the Motiv Universal Fast Charger.
Wrightspeed provides electric powertrain for garbage trucks and other medium-duty trucks.
Off-road and mining truck
Some attempts to produce such lorries have been made, for example the one by PapaBravo. Electric mining trucks have the benefit of not polluting underground. In case of high-altitude mines, the downhill trip with ore recharges the batteries due to regenerative braking.Models
BYD">BYD Auto">BYD
In China, BYD sold 7,969 all-electric/PHEV/hydrogen commercial vehicles in 2018, and 3,836 of them in 2019. These figures exclude buses.The manufacturer sells light-, medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks. The heaviest of them is the 8TT, which is a Class 8 semi-tractor equipped with a 435 kWh battery. The Chinese manufacturer gained a foothold in the US market: its customers include Anheuser-Busch, which deployed 21 electric semi-tractors from BYD in California.
[Volvo AB]
Mack
unveiled the LR refuse lorry in May 2019. Its commercialisation should begin in 2019. New York City Department of Sanitation will test one unit beginning in 2020.Renault
began selling an electric version of its Maxity small lorry in 2010. Renault was the first to build heavy-duty lorries, with three prototypes of electric Renault Midlum and a later Renault D tested in real conditions by different customers for a few years between 2012 and 2016. A prototype D lorry has been delivered to Delanchy in November 2017.After these years of testing, Renault will commercialise its D and D Wide lorries in 2019. They will be built in France alongside their Volvo counterparts.
Volvo
will launch their first mass-produced electric FE and FL lorries in early 2019. They will be built in France alongside their Renault counterparts. For the North American market, an electric VNR articulated lorry will be unveiled in 2019 and enter production in 2020.[Daimler AG]
Mitsubishi Fuso
began deliveries of the eCanter in 2017.Mercedes-Benz
began delivering eActros units to 10 customers in September 2018 for a two-year real-world test. Customers include Dachser, Edeka, Hermes, Kraftverkehr Nagel, Ludwig Meyer, Pfenning Logistics, TBS Rhein-Neckar and Rigterink of Deutschland, and Camion Transport and Migros of Switzerland.Freightliner
began delivering e-M2 lorries to Penske in December 2018, and will commercialise its larger e-Cascadia in 2019. A total of 50 electric lorries should be on the road by the end of 2019, including 20 units delivered to Penske and NFI. The Portland factory will be renovated to start electric lorry production in 2021.[Paccar]
DAF
delivered its first CF articulated lorry to Jumbo for testing in December 2018. It uses a VDL powertrain. The logistics company Tinie Manders Transport got a unit in February 2019 and Contargo in Germany two units in May.Peterbilt
has unveiled in Spring 2018 a partnership with Meritor and TransPower, who will supply all-electric drivetrain systems for two Peterbilt vehicle platforms. They will produce twelve Class 8 579EV day cab tractors and three 520EV dustbin lorries that will be tested for about a year. In January 2019, Peterbilt unveiled its medium-duty 220EV also made in partnership with Meritor and TransPower. Six units should be delivered to its major customer in 2019. The manufacturer expects to have a total of more than 30 electric lorries on the road by the end of 2019.[Volkswagen AG]
MAN
began delivering a dozen units of various e-TGM lorries in September 2018 for testing purposes with different customers. A small series production will take place before a larger serial production scheduled to begin in 2022.Models from smaller manufacturers
E-Force One
Since January 2014, COOP Switzerland operates in the region of Zurich an 18 t truck with electric drive. 18 square meters of photovoltaic elements on the truck roof support the battery operation in addition. The truck has a capacity of 300 kW. The solar panels on the roof of the truck along with the recuperation provides 23 percent of the total energy of the vehicle. The range of the truck is 240 km per day. The energy consumption is 130 kWh per 100 km and after deduction of the energy from the solar system and recuperation, it is about 100 kWh per 100 km. A comparable diesel engine consumes about three times as much energy. The industry association Euro Solar European Solar Prize 2014 awarded in the category transport and mobility to Coop for the use of this electric truck. The truck, which the Swiss company E-FORCE had developed ONE AG weighs eight tons, has a gross vehicle weight of 18 tonnes and costs 380,000 Swiss francs. It is about twice as expensive as a diesel version of the truck. The truck is based on an Iveco Stralis chassis. The converted in cash consumption is 10 francs per 100 kilometers, with a diesel truck is 50 francs. According to Coop, the vehicle had a comparable diesel truck emissions concerning superior and equal in the economy. The truck has two LiFePO4 batteries with a capacity of 120 kWh with a weight of 1300 kg. The battery can be replaced within 10 minutes.The truck E-Force One won the 2014 German Federal Ecodesign.
Two vehicles of this electric truck coming since mid-2014 even at Lidl in Switzerland and a truck at the Feldschlösschen Beverages Ltd. are used. Since June 2015, such a vehicle at the company Pistor, Switzerland is in use. Even the shipping company Meyer logistics uses such refrigerated trucks in Berlin. The truck consumes an average of 88 kWh per 100 kilometers when used on the tours to city, intercity and highway routes. The company achieved energy savings by two-thirds compared to a diesel truck. The maintenance and the service life are not higher than a comparable diesel truck. The company wants to use other vehicles of this type.
eHighway
In 2018, Siemens and the South Coast Air Quality Management District have launched an electrified highway demonstration project near the Los Angeles Port and Long Beach Port, using overhead lines to supply the trucks with electrical power instead of relying on onboard batteries.Emoss
From 2012, the eight Dutch companies 2 switch, 020stads distributie, DeRooy, Deudekom, Heineken, Mondial Movers, Sligro and TopMovers each took a 100% electric truck with the name "Hytruck" in operation. All trucks are customized solutions with different payloads, batteries and packages range. The Dutch company Emoss Mobile was system for the production B.V. responsible from Oosterhout:. Among them was a 19-ton electric motor truck of Heineken with 9-tonne payload and 200 km range. With the use of which can be saved annually around 22 tons of and the emission of sulfur oxides SOx and nitrogen oxides NOx is suppressed. The last truck was delivered in July, 2014. Since autumn 2014, the Swiss company acts as a general agent of CEEkon AG Emoss in Switzerland, Austria and Lichtenstein.In August 2013, the German discounter TEDi integrated a 12-ton Emoss electric motor truck in its fleet to supply several stores in North Rhine-Westphalia. The range is about 200 km, but thanks to opportunity charging a daily use profile of 300 to 400 km at one charge can be obtained.
On 22 May 2015, Emoss celebrated the introduction of a 19-ton electric motor truck with cooling assembly and 10-ton trailer in a world premiere. The electric truck is used by Lidl Holland for goods distribution in the city center of Amsterdam. That means that up to 90 tons of per 100 km, can be saved. The 250 kW electric motor use LiFePO4 batteries with a capacity of 200 kWh, which are charged in less than 5 hours.
On June 29, 2015, the company Niinivirta put a 16-tonne Emoss electric truck company into operation for the distribution of goods in Tampere. The Emoss CM1616 has a 250 kW engine with an instant torque of 2700 Nm and 7 tons of payload. The LiFePO4 batteries have a total capacity of 160 kWh and are protected from the very cold conditions by a special isolation device. With a Fast Charger full charging takes only 3.5 hours.
GGT Electric
In 2011, GGT Electric, an automotive engineering, design and manufacturing company based in Milford, Michigan, introduced a new line of all-electric trucks for sale. GGT has developed LSV zero-emission electric vehicles for fleet markets, municipalities, universities, and state and federal government. The company offers 4-door electric pick-up trucks, electric passenger vans, and flatbed electric trucks with tilt and dump capability.Haul truck
The company Lithium Storage GmbH is building together with the company Kuhn Switzerland AG a battery-powered haul truck. The vehicle is to go the end of 2016 in operation. The dump truck weighs 110 tons. The chassis is a Komatsu 605-7. The vehicles have an electric motor with 800 hp and can thus produce 5900 Nm. The battery is a 600 kWh lithium-ion battery. For comparison, diesel vehicles of this type consume approximately 50,000 to 100,000 liters of diesel per year.Motiv
In 2012, Motiv Power Systems announced its electric powertrain control system , from shuttle buses and Class-A school buses, to work trucks, box trucks, and even garbage trucks. The Motiv kit can be used with almost any new truck maker's chassis or for an older truck retrofit. Motiv collaborates with existing truck manufacturers to allow them to sell electric options to their existing customers.Newton
Launched in 2006, the Newton electric truck is an all-electric commercial vehicle from Smith Electric Vehicles. The Newton comes in three GVW configurations:, and. Each is available in short, medium or long wheelbase.The truck was launched with a 120 kilowatt electric induction motor from Enova Systems, driven by Lithium-Ion Iron Phosphate batteries supplied by Valence Technology. In 2012 Smith re-released the Newton with new driveline and battery systems that were developed inhouse. Smith offers the battery pack in either 80kWh or 120kWh configurations.
Newton was named Green Commercial of the Year in the electric vehicle section of Fleet Transport magazine's Irish Truck of the Year Awards 2010, sponsored by Castrol.
, the Newton is sold worldwide and available with three different payload capacities from. The lithium-ion battery pack is available in varying sizes that deliver a range from and a top speed of.