How do you make a long-haul diesel truck emit 50% much less CO2 with out altering a single factor about it? Seems like a riddle, proper? A brand new pilot resolution embraced by BMW Group Logistik and equipped by associate agency Trailer Dynamics right here in Germany, although, can just do that. I spoke with Mo Koellner from BMW and Michael Nimtsch from Trailer Dynamics about this tech on a name earlier within the week.
As to the reply to the above riddle: It is a semi-truck trailer that has a large battery pack (as much as 600 kWh) put in in its flooring, and that battery powers an electrically pushed axle beneath the trailer. The answer isn’t conceptually novel; e-trailers, or electrified trailers, have been in the marketplace in numerous kinds for quite a few years now (although the expertise remains to be in a relative stage of infancy). The essential precept is easy, too. By including a battery-electric pushed energy supply to a diesel tractor-trailer, you scale back the gasoline consumption of the diesel portion of the system. In different phrases, you’ve created a plug-in hybrid-electric massive rig. Fairly simple, yeah?
What makes Trailer Dynamics’ resolution cool is simply how “plug and play” it’s. In reality, the corporate says that its electrical trailers can work with any truck they’re bodily able to hitching to. No trailer-to-truck connection is utilized; the e-trailer operates completely independently. Trailer Dynamics says this makes its product distinctive* within the house, as most different e-trailer options require lively communication with the related truck to allow the electric-assisted drive. BMW is presently testing TD’s resolution on its BMW Group Logistik fleet. (*US-based Vary Power additionally claims to work with principally any truck, and their resolution appears fairly much like Trailer Dynamics. We lined them again in Could. The largest distinction I’ve seen is that Trailer Dynamics presents far bigger batteries and is designed to be used with European tractor-trailer configurations. BMW’s gasoline consumption figures additionally appear to point TD’s resolution could also be extra environment friendly, nevertheless it’s arduous to know the way apples-to-apples these numbers are given the pack dimension variations.)
The way in which TD achieves that is right down to a proprietary sensor pack that lives within the kingpin of the trailer. There, a pc management mannequin takes enter from the sensors (used to observe numerous forces on the kingpin) and converts that knowledge into a call about when and the way a lot energy to use to the electrical motors within the axle. The logic of the system takes into consideration the form of belongings you’d anticipate. For instance, if the trailer is aware of the truck is presently stopped and is starting a begin — when massive vehicles have a tendency to utilize their gasoline most inefficiently — it should apply very substantial energy to get the truck rolling. The end result is a large discount within the quantity of diesel used. Equally, if the system detects the truck goes uphill, electrical help might be utilized generously to reduce the consequences of an in any other case high-fuel consumption state of affairs. In keeping with TD’s web site, elements like climate situations, route topography, and visitors may also be thought of, although it was much less clear to me how these play in to when the trailer applies energy. The system may also be configured to disable itself if the battery capability reaches a predefined cutoff level (essential, as fleet operators ideally desire a minimal degree of cost assured at any second).
The system itself is, by the requirements of passenger electrical autos, some very heavy-duty stuff. Battery packs of both 400 kWh or 600 kWh are employed (a 200 kWh unit is coming later), with the 600 kWh configuration being essentially the most fascinating amongst TD’s potential prospects. That’s as a result of the economics of effectivity apparently repay finest for longer routes, the place a bigger battery goes to be crucial. The electrical motor unit outputs as much as 580 kW (777 hp), which is spectacular, nevertheless it’s the insane 13,000 nm of torque that’s doing the heavy lifting (actually). Charging can be fairly rattling fast, with the 800V structure supporting 44 kW AC and as much as 350 kW DC quick charging. The supersized figures right here make sense when you think about the weights at play — BMW is testing TD’s trailers with a payload of 16 metric tonnes, or over 35,000 kilos. (Particularly, BMW has been utilizing them to haul electrical drive items for its passenger automobiles.)
As for the tip effectivity, BMW is seeing gasoline consumption lowered by almost 50% on a number of the long-haul routes it’s testing, which means emissions on these routes are minimize in half. Even on shorter routes, the determine is in extra of 45% gasoline financial savings. As a result of BMW is utilizing 100% carbon-neutral sources to recharge the trailer batteries, it estimates that every e-trailer might minimize as much as 120 tonnes of CO2 emissions from its fleet annually. For comparability, assuming a “typical” ICE automobile emits round 5 tonnes of CO2 yearly, every trailer optimally utilized is like taking 60 automobiles off the highway. All that’s to say: It’s arduous to overstate how a lot gasoline an actual massive truck makes use of.
BMW has additionally been testing TD’s trailers with electrical vehicles, the place the system successfully acts as a variety extender. Relying on the precise truck, payload, and route, BMW says the vary of an electrical truck could possibly be prolonged by an element of 2-3x, opening up completely new situations for using BEV tractor items. In a single take a look at, BMW used an unspecified Volvo e-truck together with a TD mega trailer to go over 600 km (373 miles) with out recharging.
In an ideal world, diesel vehicles would get replaced with electrical ones wholesale. However in actuality, the design precept of vehicles as long-life belongings signifies that ICE trucking will stick round a good bit longer than combustion passenger automobiles. If we are able to attain some extent the place e-trailer techniques like Trailer Dynamics’ are minimizing trucking gasoline consumption at scale, although, we are able to nonetheless have an actual net-positive impression on emissions whereas that transition happens. And since this type of system advantages each ICE and EV tractors (arguably, the latter much more so), it is a state of affairs the place the hybrid step-transition makes way more sense. There’s nothing redundant being engineered right here for the sake of ICE vehicles; these trailers will retain their usefulness within the age of BEV trucking.
For BMW, the EV trucking aspect of the equation has an added bonus — the low-liner “mega trailer” configuration it makes use of for a considerable amount of its transport fleet significantly limits the vary of accessible EV truck choices. Utilizing TD’s mega trailer resolution as a variety extender is thus a wonderful method to work round that problem. (Mega trailers are a high-capacity trailer class particularly developed to be used within the EU, the place they continue to be extraordinarily well-liked. These space-maximized trailers require a specific class of truck chassis with a really low deck flooring for towing, and that leaves little or no room for a battery.)
As for the challenges of stuffing a large battery within the backside of an already super-heavy-laden trailer? They’re not nonexistent. In keeping with BMW, TD’s options are finest for delivery in “cubed out” configurations — that’s, using the utmost quantity of a container, not its most weight. And certain, the battery cannibalizes a number of the accessible house for cargo. However, over time and with the evolution and refinement of the system (weight discount is one in every of TD’s rapid objectives), larger and larger payloads will turn out to be possible. Human conduct is one other massive issue to contemplate. Suppose a tractor operator remains to be driving like a leadfoot. In that case, it’s potential to mitigate a good bit of the system’s gasoline financial savings (BMW noticed gasoline consumption variability of as much as 20% throughout testing based mostly on driver). On the economics, BMW believes that e-trailers will considerably decrease fleet working prices, offsetting initially greater acquisition prices for the gear.
Down the highway, TD suggests it might additionally begin utilizing its tech to help within the on-road security of tractor-trailers, making use of energy or engine braking pressure for stability administration (for instance, if a truck is at risk of jackknifing). Proper now, the corporate is simply getting began, and presently has seven trailers in operation (an eighth was simply delivered).
Whereas cleansing up our passenger automobiles may have an actual impact on world CO2 emissions, the impression of trucking transport is one thing we must always all be contemplating, too. In keeping with knowledge from the IEA, highway freight accounts for 30% of all world transportation emissions, making it the second-largest contributor behind passenger autos — and by a large margin. (For comparability, all air and sea transit contributes simply above 10% of world emissions every. Rail sits at a measly 1%.)
