Nation's First Heavy-Duty Hybrid Electric Truck to Debut At CARB Meeting
28 May 1999
Nation's First Heavy-Duty Hybrid Electric Truck to Debut At CARB Meeting
SACRAMENTO, Calif.--May 27, 1999--Successful Completion and Testing of Class 8 Truck Demonstrates
Viability of Clean Fuel Technologies In Large Vehicle Applications
The nation's first hybrid-electric heavy-duty Class 8 truck rolled out at a meeting of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Thursday, pushing the leading edge of clean technologies for heavy-duty vehicles.
Manufactured by San Diego-based ISE Research Corp. in cooperation with PACCAR, parent company of Kenworth and Peterbilt trucks, the Hybrid Electric Prototype Truck (HEPT) is a public-private partnership led by ISE Research, WestStart-CALSTART, CARB and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), among others.
The HEPT utilizes a Kenworth T-800B chassis and replaces the diesel engine with a smaller, clean natural gas-powered engine to run a generator, which provides power to the vehicle's electric drive motor and battery packs.
Integrated into the truck are several new technologies including a unique, automated auxiliary power unit (APU) control technology, as well as cutting-edge motor and motor controller products. The net result: a more efficient truck using less fuel and cutting emissions. It's also a much quieter, smoother riding "big rig" with less vibration as attested to by truck drivers evaluating the truck.
The HEPT received funds from CARB's Clean Air Technology (ICAT) program, which funds technically feasible research projects that have good market possibilities, the potential to reduce air pollution and can provide jobs for California. CARB grants about $1 million per year to as many as four applicants that meet program criteria.
CARB contributed $350,000 in 1997 to the hybrid truck project because it showed the potential to provide an important step in the effort to reduce diesel exhaust's public health threat. With 90 percent of Californians living in urban areas, vehicles that can eliminate exposure to toxic compounds can represent a significant breakthrough.
Alan Lloyd, CARB chairman, said: "Bringing clean air ideas to the marketplace is the real value of ICAT. These vehicles are the first of many that will help us meet California's combined goals of technology advancement, economic development and healthful air."
After the roll out, the truck will undergo additional testing at the PACCAR Technical Center in Seattle. Once testing is completed, the truck will be placed in operational service with Crown Disposal, a City of Burbank waste disposal firm. A second prototype will be built in collaboration with Peterbilt Motors Co., sister company to Kenworth within PACCAR.
The HEPT was initially funded by DARPA through WestStart-CALSTART as part of DARPA's Electric and Hybrid-Electric Vehicle (E/HEV) Program. The truck was designed to test a hybrid system's ability to provide comparable performance to a diesel-powered Class 8 tractor, while also doubling fuel economy and cutting harmful exhaust emissions by 90-95 percent.
Initial testing shows the HEPT has met this criteria, while also delivering these additional improvements: better acceleration than diesel; greater smoothness of operation and lower vibration; no gear shifting, since there is no transmission; and noise reduction to the point where normal conversations are possible in the cab.
In addition to the partners mentioned above, the project has also received support and funding from the California Office of Strategic Technology, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, and the U.S. Army-TACOM, San Diego Regional Technology Alliance and the University of California, Riverside.
"We see this prototype as the precursor of a new generation of fuel efficient heavy-duty trucks," commented Mike Simon, chairman of the board of ISE Research. "We will also be constructing other advanced demonstration vehicles with major U.S. and international truck companies later this year."
Also unveiled in Sacramento was the Los Angeles Hybrid Electric Bus (LAHEB), which uses the same basic drive system as the HEPT, except with different constituent components. The program was funded by the Federal Transit Administration through WestStart-CALSTART, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), the California Air Resources Board and the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
The LAHEB program officially includes five vehicles, three of which have been completed and delivered to LADOT. The remaining vehicles are scheduled for delivery this summer, and the initial trials have proved so positive that three more vehicles have been added to the program.
With the success of the program trials, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power took an interest in ISE's buses and offered extra funding to expand the project. ISE will be retrofitting three earlier-generation hybrid-electric buses with the new drive system. However, those three vehicles, as well as the fifth bus, will use paired sets of 30 kW Capstone Turbine Corporation MicroTurbines as their APUs. The fifth bus is a new low-floor design.
"Clearly, these vehicles represent breakthrough technologies and commercial successes for a company with a growing presence in the electric and hybrid-electric vehicle industry," said Bill Van Amburg, vice president, WestStart-CALSTART.
"WestStart-CALSTART is proud to be a partner with ISE Research and this team. These vehicles promise to change the face of transportation -- cleaner, more efficient -- and are clearly on the road to commercialization."
WestStart-CALSTART is an advanced transportation technologies organization that focuses on developing new, clean technologies and solutions in transportation.
Working with private partners worldwide, WestStart-CALSTART provides technology development and demonstration, industry analysis, marketing, business development and fleet implementation services. Its expertise includes electric vehicles, natural gas vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and fuel-cell technologies.