I’ve said over and over again, along with a lot of other people, that hybrid technology would make the biggest environmental impact if used in delivery trucks, municipal vehicles, and mail trucks. Vehicles like these are often limited in range but are gas hogs that travel in low gears where hybrid technology can really shine. Plus, the fuel savings of even 10% can be immense when a whole fleet of vehicles are converted. FedEx obviously knows this too and has slowly been converting delivery trucks to diesel hybrids which have been known to improve fuel economy by 44% and decrease emissions by 96%.
The upgrades replaces the 5.9L 175HP diesel to a 6.7L 200HP engine that’s assisted by the lithium ion-powered motor. The up-front additional cost is keeping the company from converting more. So far only 264 trucks have been graced with the upgrades. As FedEx points out, it’s a catch-22 as the cost of production is high because of a lack of volume, which causes the cost to be high.
It’s a shame as it makes so much sense for these vehicles to receive the updates. Think about it: the vehicles are huge and built on a robust platform designed to withstand a lot of weight and stress. The hybrid systems do not need to be polished or presented in a small package as they do in passenger vehicles.
You could essentially fit the system in a large, black box and install it anywhere in these trucks. Designers wouldn’t have to worry about shrinking down the size or weight at all.
That utility truck in the background of the above picture was converted by Edison out in California with a similar system as a proof of concept. I had a chance to check out the hybrid battery testing facility during my cross-country trip where it was made. My tour guide was annoyingly vague about everything – which is why I didn’t do a post about my 3 hour tour – but I gathered that the truck saw a 15% improvement when the hybrid system was installed. Oh, and I wasn’t suppose to take a picture of that truck for some reason.
It just makes sense in these large vehicles. If only it didn’t cost so damn much upfront, more companies and cities would convert, which will make Al Gore smile. And don’t we all want a happy Al Gore?
Fedex via Treehugger
One of the other uses I’m a bit surprised has never been pushed is a van (or pickup) aimed at the mobile tradesmen. Build in a converter and a few power sockets, and the hybrid system becomes an instant efficient power generator. Take the power from the battery packs, top them up as needed from with the engine.
And these vehicles also do a bunch of low speed, short runs – not a many as delivery vehicles, but more than your average car.
GM has a version of the Silverado that does just that.
I wonder if ford(utility truck in the pic) is going to partner up with Edison to use some of the government loan money to make more hybrid vechiles?
I know GM makes hybrid buses.
That would be pretty cool, especially since Edison and Ford were friends in real life.
If they ditched those ancient agricultual motor trucks and went with Sprinters across the board, they’d get far more than the 15% improvement (not to mention reliability, modernity, and pollute the commons less).
Check out the engines on these trucks. Obviously, you haven’t done so recently! Cummins meets/exceeds Federal emissions standards to 2010! These are truly “automotive” style engines, derated from the 325HP the engine is capable of, with electronically controlled high pressure common rail fuel systems, variable geometry turbochargers, cooled exhaust gas recirculation systems, catalysts & diesel particulate exhaust filters or BlueTec additive exhaust treatment or SCR technology which removes hydrocarbon particulate emissions and reduces NOx emissions. All this is done without loss of performance, and provide a long life with an average life to overhaul of over 300,000 miles! So these are not the old “tractor” engines of which you speak, but just as reliable, modern, and “cleaner” than most other vehicular diesel engines out there…
For more information, visit http://www.cummins.com and read about their state of the art technology and performance. There is a big difference!
My company has been following this story and according to our research dept. and wbtv.com the hybridization of these trucks were a very huge saving of almost 1/2 of the cost of getting a new one! The company that actually did the work is out of Charlotte, NC (Can Am Custom Trucks).