EV log trucks coming .... and they may not need drivers
ELECTRIC-POWERED LOG TRUCKS ARE JUST AROUND THE CORNER and they’ll help your business become cleaner and reduce costs.
And, more surprisingly, they may be among the first vehicles to successfully utilise Autonomous Driving technology, ie these trucks will drive themselves.
Andrew Rushworth, CEO of Zero Emissions Vehicles NZ which designs and makes heavy electric vehicles, told the Woodflow 2018 conference in Rotorua last month that electrifying trucks would make a huge contribution to reducing this country’s emissions – although trucks make up just 3.75% of the national vehicle fleet, they are responsible for 21.5% of all transport emissions.
There are challenges, he says.
“The weight of the batteries buggers tare weights and there needs to be a 40-fold increase in battery energy density,” Mr Rushworth concedes, adding: “And drag is a killer.”
But on the positive side, harsh operating conditions, such as forestry, suits electric vehicles and the electric motor will cost much less to maintain and will be cheaper to run than a diesel engine.
On that last point, Mr Rushworth quoted performance figures for the recently unveiled Tesla semi truck, which will have a range of 480 kilometres and consumes around 1.25kWh per kilometres of electricity at highway speeds pulling 36 tonnes. The cost of purchasing that truck when it goes into production is quoted at around NZ$215,000.
In the real world, Mr Rushworth says the costs can swing wildly, depending on driving conditions. In The Tesla figures are based on ideal driving conditions, but in adverse conditions the kWh could increase three or four times.
But he expects many of the current challenges to be overcome as technology improves the power and lowers the weight of batteries, with EV logging trucks on the road some time over the next five-to-ten years.
He envisages an EV log truck could deliver 780kW through six driving axles, with 8-tonne axle loads and running on super singles. The trailer would also have ‘powered’ axles.
Mr Rushworth says that with the advent of Autonomous technology, there is no reason why trailers could not drive themselves out of the forest when loaded and meet up with trucks at a central hitch-up point. He says private forest roads are ideal for using Autonomous vehicles because of the lack of other users.
Meanwhile, Swedish truck manufacturer, Scania, is looking to employ ‘platooning’ as one way of introducing Autonomous driving technology even sooner. ‘Platooning’ is where several trucks drive very close together in convoy, originally proposed as a way to conserve fuel by cutting down drag.
But Scania has been experimenting with the technology to see if the following trucks can do without their drivers and has carried out successful trials on its private test track. Video of the experiment was shown to the Woodflow 2018 audience by visiting Scania executives, who said the technology is not far away from being introduced.
NZL