Freightliner Hybrid Truck for Hazardous Material Transport

15 May 2009

Together with Eaton Corp., Daimler Trucks North America has developed the first hybrid truck for use in hazardous material transport.

The hybrid Freightliner Business Class M2e. Click to enlarge.

The Freightliner Business Class M2e, equipped with a hybrid electric drivetrain system, was developed for Pennington Gas Service, which specializes in delivering propane gas primarily to customers in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana.

Pennington’s new showcase truck is equipped with the Eaton parallel electric hybrid system, which enables the driver to operate the vehicle using the diesel engine alone, or in combination with the electric motor. The hybrid drive system also provides additional power to launch the truck, which substantially reduces fuel consumption. This is a key purchasing criterion in a sector with a high level of stop-and-go operations.

Pennington anticipates that the new vehicle will reduce fuel consumption and emissions by as much as 30%.

To receive immediate feedback on how the hybrid system performs on the road, Daimler Trucks North America and Pennington Gas have partnered with Telogis, a leading provider of enterprise fleet tracking software.