The future is electric
THE OLYMPIC GAMES AND A HOST OF WORLD CUP SPORTING events are a reminder that four years can be a long time in a highly competitive environment.
And four years is plenty of time to gauge substantial change as the world drives into a new era of electrified transportation.
With Covid-19 cancelling the 2020 edition of the biennial IAA Transportation expo in Hanover, Germany, the industry had advanced four years since the 2018 event. It might as well have skipped a generation when the doors opened for the 2022 event on September 19.
More than 1400 exhibitors from 41 countries showed off their latest products and the theme of the show was clear to see. Hanover 2022 went max-power to communicate that electrification of commercial transport is now on the verge of mainstream status, at least as far as Europe’s most developed markets are concerned.
The top-tier truck makers didn’t just position their battery electric and fuel cell vehicles on the prime positions of their stands to create Hanover headlines. They packed their elaborate displays with alternative power vehicles, provided development and production timelines and had the order books open for early adopter customers.
Nowhere in the vast Hanover Messe complex was this more obvious than the Volvo and Daimler Truck stands.
Daimler is fully plugged into an electric future. Only three combustion engine trucks – freshly launched models with low emission engines – appeared on its stand where the existing electric range of Mercedes-benz eactros and eeconic models and the European debut of the next-gen FUSO ecanter featured alongside prototypes of the eactros Long Haul and Genh2 fuel cell models.
The debut of the eactros Long Haul ranked among the headline makers of the Hanover show. As far as the German market is concerned it fits the 40-tonne 4x2 tractor and semi-trailer criteria that is ubiquitous on German highways by providing a 500km range on a single charge – and an estimated 800km daily range where a driver can fast-charge during their mandatory rest break.
The eactros Long Haul seeks to answer the range and load capacity questions hanging over electric trucks – at least in this European context. Among its features are Megawatt (1000kw) charging capability and the introduction of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery technology as a further step beyond lithium-ion cells.
With 600kwh of battery storage aboard the eactros Long Haul, it’s estimated a Megawatt charger will charge the batteries from 20- 80% in about 30 minutes.
The Long Haul version of the eactros isn’t a mid-or-distant future concept. Public road testing will begin before the end of this year with field evaluation involving key Daimler customers in 2023 and series production scheduled for 2024.
The eactros Long Haul represents an important move for
Daimler Truck beyond the light duty FUSO ecanter and the distribution and municipal roles of the eactros and eeconic.
Daimler says in terms of payload, distance and routes that heavy-duty long-haul transport is the most demanding segment in road freight transport to electrify. But the segment also offers great potential to reduce CO2 emissions through electrification.
Along with the 4x2 tractor unit on show in Hanover, Daimler Truck also confirmed there will be a rigid version of the eactros Long Haul. For Europe that’s likely to be a 6x2 truck working with a relatively small trailer.
Daimler Truck sees hydrogen fuel cell technology development gaining pace in the second half of this decade and is exploring the potential of liquid hydrogen with its Genh2 concept truck.
The Volvo stand, including this FM Electric, was fully battery powered without a diesel truck in sight.