News: Commercial Vehicles

2023-02-20

From Diesel to DC

For a long while, it looked as if hydrogen fuel cells would be the technology of choice for emissions-free road transport. However, truck manufacturers and freight forwarders recently turned their attention to battery-electric vehicles.

For logistics companies, the shift to zero emissions will be difficult. While it only takes a few minutes to top up the tank of a truck with diesel, it takes hours to fully charge the battery of an EV, which presents a real challenge for logistics businesses with zero-emission aspirations.

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240 Ton EV Mining Truck Can Charge in 30 Minutes

Guy Youngs
Guy Youngs

A 240-ton mining haul truck is being fitted with a 1.4 megawatt-hour (MWh) prototype battery system that global green energy company Fortescue has developed with equipment maker Liebherr.

UK-based engineering company WAE Technologies, (acquired by Fortescue in March 2022), completed and delivered the battery system to Fortescue’s workshop in Perth, Australia. The battery will be assembled and installed in the mining haul truck before it’s transported to the Pilbara in Western Australia for onsite testing this year.

The battery system marks several firsts for an electric mining haul truck battery: In addition to having energy storage of 1.4 MWh, it also has the ability to fast-charge in 30 minutes, and it can regenerate power as it drives downhill.

Source:Electrek: Read The Article

PSR Analysis: This is a good view of the potential for all mining trucks, but it should be noted that a lot of these huge mining trucks are diesel-electric to start with, (a diesel generator powering electric drives), so this is a matter of replacing the generator with the battery pack. They also can recharge on the way down, so the battery size can be relatively smaller.     PSR

Guy Youngs is Forecast & Adoption Lead at Power Systems Research

Charging Infrastructure Blocks BEV Growth

NORTH AMERICA REPORT
Chris Fisher
Chris Fisher

According to John O’Leary President and CEO of DTNA, charging infrastructure is the greatest barrier to adoption for battery electric heavy trucks.  Speaking to journalists in Las Vegas, he said customers are happy with the electric vehicles they have received but they are unable to expand their fleets with additional electric vehicles primarily due to the lack of charging infrastructure.

“Overwhelmingly, infrastructure is slowing us down in terms of EV deployment,” said Daimler Truck North America President and CEO John O’Leary. “Site prep, permitting, and construction delays all contribute to deployment times being measured in years, not weeks or months.”

“There’s a lot of will in the regulatory and political arenas to make that happen, but when you start talking about moving large megawatt lines of electricity around and building new substations, it just takes time,” he said. 

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DATAPOINT: NA Dumpers/Tenders, 2023 Production

NA Dumpers/Tenders – Feb. 2023Download

1,790 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number of Dumpers/Tenders to be produced in North America (United States and Canada) in 2023.

A Dumper/Tender is a vehicle designed for carrying bulk material, often on building sites. Dumpers are distinguished from dump trucks by configuration: a dumper is usually an open 4-wheeled vehicle with the load skip in front of the driver, while a dump truck has its cab in front of the load.

This information comes from industry interviews and from two proprietary databases maintained by Power Systems Research: EnginLink™ , which provides information on engines, and OE Link™, a database of equipment manufacturers.

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Hitech Electric To Produce 100% EV LCVs

Hitech Electric to produce 100% electric LCVs by March, with sales plans of 1,000 vehicles per year. In partnership with Positivo Tecnologia, (and its corporate venture capital (CVC) program) the assembly line will start with 50 units per month and possibly expand to 100 in the short term. The plant will be located in Campo Largo, Parana.

The vehicles will have a powertrain and battery produced by WEG, the Brazilian Electric equipment manufacturer. The batteries will feature non-flammable lithium iron phosphate. Product lineup includes a last mile utility vehicle and a 1.2-ton light truck.  

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January Brazil Truck Production Drops 72%

Fabio Ferraresi
Fabio Ferraresi

Truck production in Brazil in January was 4,049 units vs. 14,614 units in December per  Anfavea (the association that represents the automakers installed in the Brazil) monthly

Read The Article

PSR Analysis: This decline was expected due to the introduction of PROCONVE P8, the regulation in line with Euro VI, that reduces the toxic gas emission limits and therefore increases the complexity and the price of new trucks.

Under that regulation, OEMs have the right to sell Trucks at PROCONVE P7 (Euro V) produced in 2022 until March 31, 2023. This caused a pre-production and inventory increase to sell trucks with lower price at the beginning of 2023.

The Anfavea forecast points to a reduction in MHV production from 192,000 to 154,000, but their calculation on Sales, Exports and Stock does not match. Subscribers of Power Systems Research data and intelligence can see a well-balanced forecast, considering different stock level by subsegment of GVW.    PSR

Fabio Ferraresi is Director, Business Development-South America, for Power Systems Research

Deutz and Daimler Form Strategic Alliance

EUROPEAN REPORT 
Emiliano Marzoli
Emiliano Marzoli

Daimler Truck and Deutz have entered a strategic partnership to manufacture engines.  Under the plan, Daimler Truck acquires 4.19% of the shares in Deutz AG, in return for which Deutz pays for access to Daimler Truck internal combustion engines. 

The move is a consequence of Daimler’s decision to stop investing in the development of their medium duty engines (MDEG Series) from 5.1 to 7.7 Litres.  At the same time, Deutz will be able to access Daimler technology and further develop it for off-road applications, such as construction and agriculture machinery. The heavy-duty engines will continue to be manufactured by Daimler Truck at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Mannheim and be delivered to Deutz to complete the engine system.   Production of the medium-duty engines is expected to take place at Deutz in 2028. 

Read The Article

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China To Push Adoption of New Energy CVs

CHINA REPORT
Jack Hao
Jack Hao

Pilot cities must embrace EVs in official vehicles, public transport, taxis, sanitation, postal express, urban logistics, airport vehicles, aiming to achieve 80% NEV proportion by 2025. A balanced and efficient charging infrastructure must be established, with public charging piles proportional to NEV promotion, and 10% charging facilities in expressway service areas.

Innovation in tech, green energy supply, and new information/communication networks must be applied to efficiently integrate NEVs with power grids and other fields. Innovations such as intelligent charging, high-power charging, rapid power change have been expanded, and vehicle-network integration verified.

Source: The QQ     Read The Article

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2023-02-17

Union Budget 2023 Focuses on Capex

INDIA REPORT
Aditya Kondejkar

As part of its 2023 Budget, the government has reiterated its focus on capital expenditures, the vehicle scrappage policy, and a reduction in customs duty for electric vehicle components that is designed to stimulate new vehicle sales. A reduction in customs duties and a plan to replace older, polluting vehicles will boost the adoption of green mobility.

“The increase in capex on infrastructure and the emphasis on green growth will help the mobility sector,” said Sudarshan Venu, MD, TVS Motor Company. “This budget gives something to everyone, from rural India and start-up India, to middle-class India and digital India. It is about inclusive growth and building on the recovery we are seeing after the pandemic. It strikes a fine balance between growth and fiscal prudence.”

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2023-01-23

Alternative Power Report, January 2023

PSR Alternative Power Report Jan2023Download

The January 2023 Alternative Power Report produced by PSR’s Guy Youngs and other analysts at Power Systems Research includes several articles on hydrogen power. New applications of hydrogen power from construction to marine are discussed in this issue. Plans by OEMs Audi and BMW for new EV cars also are discussed. PSR