ISE and Crane Carrier to Build Series Hybrid Trash Trucks for NY, Chicago and Houston

16 April 2008

ISE Corporation (ISE) and Crane Carrier Company (CCC) have been selected by CALSTART’s Hybrid Truck Users Forum (HTUF) Refuse Working Group to negotiate building, validation and testing of Class 7 and 8 hybrid-electric refuse vehicles.

The working group members taking part in this hybrid refuse vehicles pilot project include the Department of Sanitation, City of New York; the City of Chicago; and Solid Waste Management Department, City of Houston. There will be 5 vehicles built and powered by a variant of ISE’s ThunderVolt hybrid drive system. New York will take delivery of 3 hybrid-electric vehicles, while Chicago and Houston will receive one each.

ISE and CCC proposed a series hybrid-electric refuse system using a self-contained hybrid drive assembly that can be easily mounted between the frame rails in most truck chassis. This hybrid system takes the place of the conventional manual or automatic transmission assembly in the CCC LET2 chassis.

ISE will use components that it has already developed for the transit market in heavy 60 ft. articulated bus applications, and will employ either nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries or ultracapacitor packs to store energy recovered from the high number of braking cycles experienced by the refuse collection vehicles during their normal operation.

ISE will also install an onboard GPS and Remote Diagnostic Unit (RDU) to allow for real time performance monitoring and remote troubleshooting. The RDU conveys location, vehicle status and offers web-based access.