Green Car Congress: Mitsubishi-Fuso Launches New Diesel-Electric Hybrid Truck

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Mitsubishi-Fuso Launches New Diesel-Electric Hybrid Truck

5 July 2006

Canter Eco Hybrid

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation (MFTBC), 85% owned by DaimlerChrysler and a member of DaimlerChrysler’s Truck Group, launched its new Canter Eco Hybrid parallel diesel-electric truck into the Japanese market today. (Earlier post.)

The Canter Eco Hybrid system combines a 3.0-liter, four-cylinder inline diesel engine; an ultra-slim 35 kW electric motor/generator installed between an automatic clutch (for disengaging the engine from the driveline) a high-efficiency automated mechanical transmission; and a 1.9kWh Li-ion battery pack consisting of 96 cells connected in series.

The 3.0-liter DOHC, 16-valve intercooled turbo-diesel engine generates 92kW (123 hp) at 3200 rpm and 294 Nm (217 lb-ft) of torque at 1,700 rpm. It incorporates a new diesel particulate filter for trapping PM and a high precision, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system for reducing NO_x.

The vehicle can operate in all-electric mode, and has an Idling Stop & Start (ISS) system that automatically turns off the engine when the transmission is shifted to N, saving fuel and reducing emissions. ISS can be turned on or off according to user preference.

The electric motor is used to drive the vehicle when starting off. During hard acceleration, both the diesel engine and electric motor/generator power the vehicle. When cruising, the vehicle is driven by the diesel engine only, like a conventional vehicle. When slowing down or braking, the electric motor/generator functions as a generator to brake the vehicle and use regenerative braking to recharge the Li-ion battery pack.

The Canter Eco Hybrid features a 41% reduction in NO_x and 46% decrease in particulate matter (PM) versus conventionally-powered models. The vehicle already meets Japan’s new long-term emissions regulations, due to come into effect August 2007—the first commercial truck to do so.

The hybrid diesel-electric drive installed in the vehicle delivers an up-to-20% increase in fuel efficiency over conventionally-powered models. The fuel savings are especially significant during stop-and-go, delivery driving.

The vehicle was introduced today at ceremonies in Tokyo attended by DaimlerChrysler Chairman Dieter Zetsche, Head of the DaimlerChrysler Truck Group Andreas Renschler, MFTBC President & CEO Harald Boelstler, MFTBC Chairman Keisuke Egashira, customers, press and guests.

The Canter Eco Hybrid marks a milestone for the global truck industry. Customers and the environment will both benefit from this technological advance. Our Asia truck pillar Fuso is delivering a vehicle that advances environmental sustainability and customer value, and further positions DaimlerChrysler as a world leader in commercial truck technology.

—DaimlerChrysler Chairman Dieter Zetsche

The new Canter Eco Hybrid joins another Mitsubishi Fuso hybrid vehicle already in commercial production: the Aero Nonstep HEV bus, launched in 2004, a 68-passenger city bus with hybrid drive. The bus is now in operation by customers in Shizuoka, Aichi and Gifu, Japan.

Fuso is now beginning customer deliveries of the Canter Eco Hybrid in Japan. Mitsubishi Fuso expects to sell several hundred Canter Eco Hybrids by the end of 2006, with the number increasing in the coming years. The new Canter Eco Hybrid—weighing 2,830- 2,870 kilograms with a payload capacity from 2,000-3,000 kg—is specified for numerous applications in city delivery, refuse pickup and other industries.

Fuso is first launching the Canter Eco Hybrid in Japan, while evaluating the product for international markets. It brought prototypes of the truck to the US earlier this year.

July 5, 2006 in Diesel, Hybrids, Japan | Permalink | Comments (59) | TrackBack (1)

Comments

Good news, especially in Japan where Tokyo prefecture engaged in a concerted campaign against diesels some years ago. Trouble is, in the commercial arena you really can't do without them.

The transient torque boost from the electric motor plus the DPF eliminate the smoke puffs normally seen when MDVs accelerate. Note also that the ICE has a displacement of onle 3L. No-idling is also a valuable emissions & fuel economy feature in a country where e.g. supermarkets are so small they must sometimes take deliveries several times a day.

The use of a Li-ion battery is also noteworthy. However, it will have trouble charging in a severe winter if the electrodes are the convention graphite type. Fortunately, the design lends itself to an upgrade to more advanced batteries if and when they become available in volume at a reasonable price. Greater resilience at low and high temperatures, coupled with high power ratings and long life would lead to smaller, lighter battery packs (i.e. higher payload), lower emissions and more efficient recuperative braking. Stay tuned.

Posted by: Rafael Seidl | July 05, 2006 at 08:16 AM

A 35 kW generator on a vehicle of this mass is far too small to do any significant regenerative braking. Lots of improvement in urban delivery type of usage can be expected with a larger electric motor/generator.

Posted by: anne | July 05, 2006 at 09:21 AM

The ability of the batteries to quickly take a charge would limit regenerative braking with massive vehicles more so then the size of the generator in this case.

Posted by: Patrick | July 05, 2006 at 09:40 AM

Add a hydraulic hybrid version as well. With the high peak recapture of regenerative braking, it would be better suited for city traffic. Downsize it to a Sprinter and you got a few vehicles that could corner the market.

Posted by: allen Z | July 05, 2006 at 09:57 AM

Considering the apparent lousy fuel economy of the standard Canter trucks, Mitsubishi needs to do everything they can to improve it.

I did a little web search, and according to the review of an English operator (link below), the standard vehicle gets 11 to 12 m.p.g. (IMPERIAL) which, when translated to U.S. m.p.g., only amounts to 8.8 to 9.6 m.p.g.!

http://www.reviewcentre.com/review172053.html

I suppose the hybrid version would get a whopping 10.6 to 11.52 m.p.g. (U.S.)
All of this wonderful fuel economy coming out of a 123 H.P. engine!

Oh yes, and won't it be wonderful to own this vehicle when it comes time to repair or rebuild the fuel system of this electronic wonder that's outfitted with cheap circuit boards made in China or God knows where. Fuel injectors for modern electronic engines can easily run $500 apiece($2000 for this jewel!), and electronic fuel injection pumps easily go $2000, for a grand total of $4000 in parts alone per fuel system overhaul!

Heh, heh, a nasty smoke belching two-cycle Detroit 4 cylinder made between the late 1930's and mid 1990's can produce the same horsepower with nearly 44% more torque (meaning around 44% better fuel economy)at the same peak torque r.p.m.'s, and, the unit fuel injectors only cost about $60 apiece, suggesting that a complete fuel sytem overhaul for this dinosaur is only about $240 TOTAL in parts(not $4000!).

Yeah, I know. We've got to do this in the holy, sanctified name of EMISSIONS. So what if the E.P.A. regulations absolutely gut fuel economy and the reliability of our tranportation.

Posted by: Dave Zeller | July 05, 2006 at 11:41 AM

Dave -

time to live in the real world. Emissions regs all over the world - Japan in this particular case - are strict and getting stricter. And yesteryear's engines were, by and large, a lot less fuel efficient than todays. The vehicles they powered may not have been but safety regs plus acceleration performance and comfort requirements have changed, too.

For an MPV (<18,000lb GVR), 10 MPG isn't bad. HDVs and buses get a lot less than that. These are not LDVs.

Rebuilding a fuel system from the ground up is something that is almost never required for a modern diesel vehicle (perhaps it is for one made in the US, I don't know). A commercial vehicle is designed to last for 750,000 miles or more, otherwise no-one will buy it. As for cheap circuit boards from mainland China, its is far more likely that they are in fact very expensive ones from Japan or Germany.

Posted by: Rafael Seidl | July 05, 2006 at 12:37 PM

Dave- More likely fuel injectors for a common rail diesel system (especially piezo type) may run that high but the average electronic fuel injection injector (gasoline) is closer to the $50 to $100 range. I have a set of injectors at home that flow enough fuel to support a 200hp four cylinder engine and they were only $75 a piece brand new. My high pressure fuel pump (gasoline) that supports up to 300hp only cost me $150 brand new.

Posted by: Patrick | July 05, 2006 at 12:47 PM

I wonder if the Oshkosh ProPulse system which is pure hybrid using ultra capacitors instead of batteries wins over this system.

Posted by: The Stig | July 05, 2006 at 01:05 PM

Anne,
U r right, 35 kw motor seems low for a vehicle weighing of gross weight nearly 5000kg, especially for hi speed driving typical of the USA. However, in Japan, with massive traffic congestion and small, narrow streets, the driving speeds can be much lower. Remember, E=1/2mVsquared. If you halve the speed, the kinetic energy is reduced to 1/4. The vehicle can be put in low gear to speed up the motor in order to increase regenerative effort. The vehicle only has a 93kw engine, which is pretty anemic anyway, so 35kw motor seems quite fitting.

Posted by: Roger Pham | July 05, 2006 at 01:58 PM

50km/hr (30mph) with a 5000kg vehicle and a 35kw generator (with 90% efficiency) could convert the energy in around 12 seconds (assuming in that time there is little to no dissipation of energy due to friction in the driveline, tires, aerodynamic losses, and on a level road). The batteries will have troubling keeping up with that much energy regardless of how big you make the motor/generator.

Posted by: Patrick | July 05, 2006 at 02:19 PM

This is the first I've heard of a diesel-electric hybrid for a commercial-type truck. If it does what it's supposed to (reduce emissions and save fuel without sacrificing performance) then this truck could really give Mitsubishi Fuso a much-needed boost.

Posted by: RisingSunofNihon | July 05, 2006 at 03:01 PM

RisingSunofNihon -

Nissan showed a capacitor hybrid truck a few years ago. Volvo is working on a hybrid HDV with bipolar lead-acid batteries. I'm not sure how many hybrid MDVs and HDVs are already on the roads in Japan, perhaps the Canter really i the first regular production model.

As for those arguing the 35kW is not a big enough electric motor, consider that this power is available at very low vehicle speed, i.e. the torque boost is massive. Its primary purpose of such a hybrid layout is to support acceleration and recuperative braking up to ~25mph. As Roger points out, average driving speeds in congested Japanese cities are even lower than in the US or Europe.

Posted by: Rafael Seidl | July 05, 2006 at 03:33 PM

Delivery vehicle is an ideal application for hybrid technology. It could by hydraulic, battery electrical, or ultracap-electrical. Battery for this kind of vehicle is probably the best solution: sizable energy storage of battery could support operation of AC and cargo refrigeration unit for a periods of engine stop – exactly what third generation Prius is capable to do.

As for mr, the biggest news is first productional use of Li battery.

Posted by: Andrey | July 05, 2006 at 04:12 PM

Mitsubishi has been working on formulations of Li-ion batteries suitable for vehicle use extensively since atleast the mid 90s. They had a BEV in 97 based on the Eclipse which had great recharge times and energy density (not sure about cycles it could handle).

They really ought to pair an ultracapacitor with a battery pack. The ultracapacitor could shunt any large spikes in electrical energy and it could step in for the initial capture and release of large quantities of energy to provide less pressure on the battery. Cost, and space would be a factor in this type of layout though.

Posted by: Patrick | July 05, 2006 at 04:57 PM

Anne is correct, this is too small a motor to really contribute. 35 kw? The Prius has 50 kw!! And 400 nm of torque....(295 lb/ft) Although Rafael correctly points out that the torque is the big contributer. Not much brake regeneration though.

Posted by: Bud Johns | July 05, 2006 at 05:36 PM

I get 10 mpg pulling 30,000 pounds with my F-350 7.3L diesel. It is possible to have to little of power.

Posted by: John | July 05, 2006 at 06:52 PM

The Prius may have a 50 kw motor, but the battery can only push out about 20 kw, the rest has to come from the combustion engine via the generator in series mode. In this configuration the limiting factor is the battery, so there's no point in sizing the motor bigger than the battery is capable of driving because the motor/generator can do only one or the other.

Posted by: Erick | July 05, 2006 at 10:17 PM

Where can i find articles on alternative fuels Turbine-Electric Hybrids ? Are there any vehicles with in-series Turbine batt charging/combo ? Thks !

Posted by: Pete | July 06, 2006 at 12:03 AM

Pete:

the only one commercially available microturbine I am avare of:

http://www.microturbine.com/

Posted by: Andrey | July 06, 2006 at 01:22 AM

Bud Johns -

you may not be entirely correct wrt recuperation. I don't have the vehicle specs to confirm this, but in general Li-ion batteries have higher specific power ratings than NiMH packs (as used in e.g. the Prius) do. That translates to higher recuperation *efficiency*.

Pete -

been there done that. Gas turbines are poorly suited as prime movers for automotive applications because:

(a) the available turbine materials are either brittle or limited to modest temperatures of ~1000-1100 deg C (cp. >>2000 deg C peak temps in a reciprocating angine). The turbines are too small to permit gas shrouding of the vanes via internal ducts or pores.

(b) the load response is poor as it takes time for a turbine to spin up or down (cp. lag on a turbocharger, which is smaller). Avoiding this requires a high idle speed, which absolutely kills fuel economy (never good with a two-stage turbine anyhow).

(c) fuel-efficient single-stage turbines are unstable wrt load steps. Rosen Motors tried to overcome this with a serial hybrid layout with a high-speed composite flywheel weighing 23 kg and rotating at 52,000 RPM in a high vaccum on magnetic bearings housed in a closed gyroscopic gimball and attached to the vehicle via kevlar straps. Gyroscopic forces and crash safety is a big issues with flywheels, which drives up the cost.

There have periodically been attempts to equip HDVs and coach buses with turbines instead of diesels but the economics never panned out. Even paired with modern batteries or ultracaps, it's apparently still a marginal proposition. The new US emissions regs might change the picture, though.

Note that gas turbines can be made to run on just about any fuel, even coal dust, but they much prefer gaseous (methane, syngas, hydrogen, LPG, DME) or highly volatile liquid compounds (gasoline, alcohols). Low sulphur content reduces wear and tear on the turbines.

http://www.allpar.com/mopar/turbine.html
http://www.turbinecar.com/sia/sia57.htm
http://www.inc.com/magazine/19980601/939.html
http://www.hybridcars.com/discussion/discussthread.php?thread_id=64&replies=21
http://americas.kyocera.com/KICC/automotive/gasturbine.html
http://www.microturbine.com/WhatsNew/morePhotos.asp?newsid=2

Posted by: Rafael Seidl | July 06, 2006 at 05:06 AM

Why go with a turbine when existing compression-ignition piston engines have better (ie up to 43%) thermal efficiency? (Assuming that combined cycle is not an option for automotive use.)

Posted by: clett | July 06, 2006 at 06:13 AM

Clett -

43% would be for a diesel near its optimum operating point. Gas turbines, due to continous combustion, would produce far lower emissions. Their simplicity (especially for single-stage gensets in serial hybrids) would reduce maintenance overheads. That said, the cons outweigh the pros.

You could argue that turbocharging is a combined-cycle concept. Turbocompounding certainly is. BMW is researching a secondary steam engine (I'm not kidding) in a concept they call turbosteamer. Others are working on new materials for thermoelectrics. The heat in the coolant could be used to drive an absorption chiller for a/c et al.

http://www.scania.com/products/newtruckrange/technology/turbocompound/how_does_it_work.asp
http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/websites/osti.gov/www.osti.gov/fcvt/deer2001/gerke.pdf
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/09/tigers_exhaust_.html
http://www.cartype.com/page.cfm?id=1078
http://www.osti.gov/fcvt/deer2004/FairbanksThermoelectricsFinal.pdf
http://www.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/deer_2004/session4/2004_deer_martin.pdf
http://www.itt.uni-stuttgart.de/~schaal/index.en.html

Posted by: Rafael Seidl | July 06, 2006 at 08:53 AM

Thanks rafael for the info.
I will peruse those links you included.

Just for clarification , i'm looking at the microturbine / hydrogen rotary generator application, charging in-series electric/hybrid .

Cheers all

Posted by: Pete | July 08, 2006 at 01:40 AM

Thanks rafael for the info.
I will peruse those links you included.

Just for clarification , i'm looking at the microturbine / hydrogen rotary generator application, charging in-series electric/hybrid .

Cheers all

Posted by: Pete | July 08, 2006 at 01:40 AM

Have a look at this
www.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/deer_2005/session6/2005_deer_vuk.pdf

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