COMMERCIAL EVS
www.electrichybridvehicletechnology.com // July 2019 // 51
7
7. Volvo’s FL all-electric
truck is used for urban
applications and can even
be used indoors thanks to
zero exhaust emissions
IT TAKES TWO
Better battery chemistry isn’t
necessarily the cure to range and
payload compromises on electric
HDVs. Two-speed transmissions for
electric cars are typically limited
to high-speed applications, but
the technology could also enable
efficiency improvements for heavier
vehicles, allowing cheaper, lighter,
lower-capacity batteries to be used.
Volvo Trucks already uses twospeed
transmissions in the FE
buses in use globally, of which 99% are
in China, but other regions are
following suit. MAN Truck and Bus
expects 66% of the world’s scheduled
buses to be electric by 2030.
Balancing act
Electric goods vehicles are more
challenging, because long-haul applications
also show up the shortfalls with battery
technology. The American Chemical Society
calculated that electric trucks would require a
2,000kWh battery, weighing 16 tonnes, to meet
the 965km (600 mile) range and 14.5-tonne
average payload requirements of a US Class 8
HGV. Given that the best-case scenario, with
and FL Electric, while Austrian
startups Kreisel and Sala Drive
are also collaborating to bring the
technology to market. The latter was
demonstrated on an electric sports
car, but the companies said this could
also be configured for commercial
applications with a gross vehicle
weight between 3.5 and 15 tonnes.
lighter and one-third more e cient trucks,
still requires a 1,400kWh, 12-tonne battery,
the report suggests that cost and payload
compromises will prevent electric trucks
matching their diesel counterparts’ 1,500km
(900 mile) ranges.
DAF Trucks board member and chief
engineer and director of product
development, Ron Borsboom, says
energy consumption is a
challenge: “As the required
ranges are higher for heavy
duty vehicles compared to
lighter duty vehicles, range
and payload are limited with
EVs and there is far less
predictability of where the
truck will be at any given
moment of a day.
“EVs currently cannot match the
superior fl exibility off ered by diesel-fuelled
vehicles. They will require a far more specifi c
specifi cation for their individual usage, which
could also impact negatively on resale appeal
and value,” he claims.
Prodrive’s McGeachie, meanwhile, believes
that modularity is vital: “These trucks last
a long time – 10-15 years is not unusual –
so the challenge is making something that’s
reconfi gurable. Even if it’s a hybrid, you
want something that can be upgraded as
the technology moves on, such as battery
chemistry,” he says.
Volvo Trucks, which is nearing production
of the FE Electric following trials in Europe
and North America, and the
company’s environment and
innovation director, Lars
Mårtensson, reveals it has
required a big change in R&D
focus: “Since battery costs,
operating range and payloadlimitations
are the main limiting
factors for broad applications,
battery development is key to
further deployment.
“New R&D methodology
includes deep understanding
of battery life, the ability to
develop predictive modelling for
range prediction and drivetrain
e ciency and battery chemistry,
among others. This is in order to
push the boundaries regarding
energy density and charging time.
In manufacturing, there
is a greater focus on battery
manufacturing, alongside high
voltage safety.”
“New R&D methdology includes deep
understanding of battery life and drivetrain
efficiency and battery chemistry”
Lars Mårtensson, environment and innovation director, Volvo Trucks
COCMOMMEMRECRIACLIA ELV ESVS
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