ReVolt Says Its Hybrid Powertrain For Class 8 Trucks Can Save 40% On Fuel Costs

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Why throw away a superbly good Class 8 tractor for a brand new battery electric truck when you may re-power it at half the fee and pay for the improve in a little bit over a 12 months? That’s the enterprise proposition ReVolt is providing the trucking business. The corporate has created a alternative powertrain for Class 8 vans. Consider it as a model of the Voltec system GM created for the Chevy Volt greater than a decade in the past. Just like the Voltec, the ReVolt system is a sequence hybrid, which implies the pushed wheels are powered by an electrical motor that will get its electrons from a battery. That battery could be recharged from an exterior energy supply similar to any battery electrical car, however Class 8 vans typically have to go additional than they’ll journey on battery energy alone. That’s the place the ReVolt system is available in. It consists of an onboard inside combustion engine to energy a generator that sends electrons to the battery whereas driving.

The variations from the Chevy Volt are important. The ReVolt powertrain boasts a complete of 670 horsepower, 3,500 lb-ft of torque, and a GVWR of 130,000 kilos, that means it’s totally able to hauling the heaviest masses up the steepest grades. It encompasses a 210 kWh battery provided by CATL and has a complete vary of 1,200 miles. The drivetrain helps “hoteling,” which implies the truck can go a whole week with all of its important methods functioning with out having to run the generator.

There are different benefits. The battery can present 24 kW of 3-phase energy in both 240 or 480 volts to assist industrial tools equivalent to welding machines, HydroVac machines, dry materials dealing with pumps, and hydraulically operated tools. Whereas stationary, the battery can ship 200 kW (400 kW peak) of energy to distant functions the place there may be restricted or no entry to energy sources, equivalent to oil subject drilling and fracking functions.

ReVolt works with a number of suppliers to supply one of the best home part choices, together with Flodraulic, an organization that has international experience in fluid energy in addition to electrical and mechanical applied sciences, and specializes within the integration of low-voltage and high-voltage methods in heavy-duty equipment. It is without doubt one of the largest Danfoss suppliers of Danfoss tools on the earth. Danfoss Energy Options boasts that it has the expertise and the experience to remodel cell and industrial equipment to allow them to prepared the ground to a extra sustainable future by rising machine productiveness and effectivity whereas lowering or eliminating emissions.

ReVolt Vary Extender Engine

Right here’a the half the place CleanTechnica readers could really feel a little bit uneasy. The ReVolt powertrain makes use of a diesel engine sourced from Scania to energy the onboard engine. Diesel engines from different producers could also be utilized in some vans as nicely. Is that the best state of affairs? For long-haul, heavy-duty vans, it might be. The vital statistic we haven’t shared with you but is that ReVolt claims its powertrain will save truckers 40 p.c on their gas prices.

In line with trucking business information supply Bobtail, a typical Class 8 diesel tractor drives 62,169 miles in a 12 months and averages about 6.5 miles per gallon, which makes the whole consumption of diesel gas annually 9,564 gallons. In 2021, there have been roughly 4 million Class 8 vans on the street in America which consumed round 39 billion gallons of diesel gas. Taking the common gas financial system of 6.5 miles per gallon, which means the common owner-operator consumes roughly 24,000 gallons of gas yearly. Diesel gas can account for 25 p.c or extra of a trucking enterprise’s working bills. At a median of $4.215 per gallon, it prices about $40,000 in diesel gas alone to function a typical Class 8 tractor truck. Since owner-operators drive extra miles, that quantity could also be nearer to $70,000 for them.

Taking the decrease variety of $40,000 a 12 months for gas, the ReVolt system can save operators about $16,000 a 12 months. For owner-operators, that quantity is nearer to $28,000 a 12 months. Gas financial savings are clearly a giant deal for truckers — fleet operators typically determine their prices right down to tenths of a cent per mile. The massive profit so far as CleanTechnica readers are involved is {that a} 40 p.c discount within the quantity of gas used interprets right into a 40 p.c discount in diesel emissions, together with the oxides of nitrogen and nice particulate matter that trigger illnesses in people.

Constructed With The American Trucker in Thoughts

In a press releaseReVolt says its serial hybrid system is designed particularly with the American trucker in thoughts. With the straightforward flip of a swap, drivers can change from utilizing a diesel generator on the open street to working on electrical energy in areas with zero-emissions mandates. “Drivers should not have to choose between losing their longtime routes because of changing regulatory environments or losing the truck in which they have already made significant investments,” stated Gus Gardner, ReVolt Motors founder and CEO. “American truckers want their trucks to reflect their identity, and our retrofit technology allows them to continue driving the trucks they love while still making a living.”

ReVolt’s retrofit answer is a extra inexpensive choice than buying a new electric truckwhich might price $500,000 earlier than including custom-made options and equipment. Retrofitting usually takes place as a part of a million-mile overhaul, with conversion prices beginning at round $125,000. The ReVolt workforce installs all elements and has developed a proprietary management software program together with a number of design and utility improvements. The serial hybrid system has been designed to scale up simply so the corporate can develop as market demand will increase. The retrofit additionally eliminates the necessity for a separate auxiliary energy unit to energy the sleeper cab with out idling the primary engine, offering drivers with almost limitless warmth and AC.

Past reliability, the corporate says its expertise delivers important environmental advantages. Provided that the US trucking business accounts for 25 p.c of the transportation sector’s carbon emissions, ReVolt empowers drivers to undertake a cleaner future for freight transport. The hybrid system can slash carbon emissions by 40%, even with diesel gas utilization, which can enable the retrofitted vans to qualify for EPA certification as a near-zero emissions answer. “ReVolt’s hybrid system seamlessly charges the truck batteries through the range extender and regenerative braking, so there is no need to waste hours at an EV charger or worry about running out of power before reaching a charging station. This hassle-free solution keeps drivers on the road making money, not stuck on the side,” the corporate says.

The Takeaway

That is a type of conditions the place we should always not enable the right to be the enemy of the great. Would we desire to wave a magic wand and have all Class 8 vans in America be battery powered? In fact we might! However they might be a lot too costly for some and the charging infrastructure for them is woefully insufficient right this moment. We will debate till the swallows come again to Capistrano the deserves of serial hybrid methods, however the backside like is that this conversion addresses diesel air pollution right this moment, not subsequent 12 months or subsequent decade. For these use instances the place it makes financial sense, it could be a wonderful different. ReVolt shall be exhibiting off a Peterbilt 379 that has been retrofitted with its serial hybrid expertise on the Mid-America Trucking Present subsequent month in Louisville, Kentucky. Cease by and inform them you examine their expertise on CleanTechnica.