electric

The Toll Group has unveiled Australia’s first modern 100 per cent electric truck.

The 10-tonne Smith Electric vehicle will be used for parcel pick-ups and deliveries around Brisbane. Toll IPEC will use the all-electric vehicle during an initial three-month trial that will look at how the vehicle performs in Australian conditions and its cost to operate.

Toll Group environment and energy general manager Nick Prescott said Toll is constantly looking for ways to apply new technologies and practices to reduce the consumption of non-renewable resources.

UPS has expanded its fleet of alternative-fuel vehicles with the deployment of 200 next-generation hybrid electric delivery trucks in eight U.S. cities. The 200 new hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) join roughly 20,000 low-emission and alternative-fuel vehicles already in use and have been deployed in Austin, Houston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Long Island, Minneapolis and Louisville. Before this latest deployment, UPS was operating 50 hybrid electrics in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Phoenix.

According to Bob Stoffel, UPS senior vice president of supply chain, strategy, engineering and sustainability, this technology, where properly used, can yield a 35% fuel savings, which he says is the equivalent of 100 conventional UPS delivery vehicles.

FedEx Corp. has expanded its alternative-energy vehicle fleet by introducing all-electric parcel delivery trucks in the United States. Four purpose-built electric trucks-optimized for electric operation from the wheels up-are slated to hit the road in the Los Angeles area starting in June 2010, joining more than 1,800 alternative-energy vehicles already in service for FedEx around the world.

Rather than creating its own proprietary technology, FedEx is turning to the marketplace to spur solutions that can rapidly be scaled up to provide affordable and reliable service to a wide range of delivery truck operators. It is purchasing its first North American all-electric vehicles from two different suppliers to evaluate the robustness of this technology for demanding daily FedEx Express deliveries in the Los Angeles area and provide information to help guide future FedEx vehicle purchases.

DHL Express Australia is driving towards greener deliveries with its first fully electric vehicle.

The electric vehicle can complete a journey of an estimated 100+ kilometres on a single charge, eliminating the production of 4.75 tonnes of carbon emissions from the environment over the course of one year

In keeping with the company’s global commitment to reducing carbon emissions, DHL Express has put its first fully electric vehicle on Australian roads following a successful trial. The electric vehicle is a Renault Kangoo ZE Van and will be used as the company mail car in Sydney, driving between DHL Express offices.

Renault’s 100 per cent electric-powered delivery vans will shortly join Australia Post’s fleet in Melbourne and Sydney.

The Renault Kangoo Maxi Z.E. (Zero Emission) electric van, currently not sold in Australia, is widely used across Europe and the United Kingdom and will be used exclusively by Australia Post from mid-2014 for a 12-month proof-of-concept.

Australia Post head of environmental sustainability Andrew Sellick said using the Renault Kangoo Maxi Z.E. for day-to-day parcel and letter deliveries is another exciting step in Australia Post’s sustainability journey and an important step in assessing the real-world use of electric commercial vehicles.

“The Kangoo Maxi Z.E. assessment is part of a broader strategy to explore alternative fuels at Australia Post, including using biofuel and hybrid vehicles in our current fleet.

Terminal tractor manufacturer Terberg claims to have developed the first fully electric yard tractor, the Terberg YT202-EV.

Sydney Airport has unveiled Australia’s first electric airport bus, as part of a $5 million investment in environmentally friendly ground transport technology.

The Electric Blu bus is the first of a fleet of six electric buses to be operational by the end of this year, replacing the airport’s existing diesel bus fleet servicing the shuttle route between the T2/T3 terminal precinct and the Blu Emu Car Park.

“We’re proud to be the first Australian airport to introduce electric buses to our Parking and Ground Transport operations, which will reduce our carbon footprint and enhance the passenger experience,” managing director and chief executive officer Kerrie Mather said.

To reduce CO2 emissions, carriers and shippers would likely be very interested in the development of all-electric heavy duty trucks, but the barriers are daunting.

Consider the size of a Tesla car battery today, and now imagine that increased many fold to meet the power requirements of over the road freight trucking.

Given these barriers, there have been a number of ideas floated about for enabling electric trucks. Those include: