Peterbilt to Begin Full Production of Electric Hybrid and Hydraulic Hybrid Trucks
01 April 2008
Peterbilt Motors, a division of PACCAR, will begin full production of its Model 330 and Model 335 medium-duty hybrid vehicles in summer 2008, and of its Model 320 Hydraulic Launch Assist (HLA) vehicle in the fourth quarter of 2008. (Earlier post.)
Both the Peterbilt Model 330 and Model 335 Hybrid Electric vehicles feature the Eaton Hybrid Power system and provide up to a 30% improvement in fuel economy in an urban driving cycle. The Model 335 Hybrid Electric utilizes these same components to provide up to a 60% improvement in overall fuel efficiency, when configured for utility applications. The Model 330 Hybrid Electric can be configured for non-CDL operation with hydraulic brakes for a greater range of driver options.
Additionally, the Model 330 and Model 335 hybrids are eligible to receive tax credits from the United States Federal Government as certified by the Department of Treasury’s Heavy Manufacturing and Transportation Group. The maximum $12,000 credit for Class 7 hybrids is available for the Model 335 Hybrid Electric in both utility-boom and pickup and delivery applications. A $6,000 credit, the maximum for Class 6 hybrids, is available for the Model 330 Class 6 Hybrid Electric.
The Class 6 Model 330 is powered by the PACCAR PX-6 engine rated at 260 hp (194 kW) and 620 lb-ft (841 Nm) of torque. With the hybrid system engaged, horsepower increases to 300 and torque is limited to 860 lb-ft (1,166 Nm). This configuration is ideal for stop-and-go use, such as urban pickup and delivery, resulting in up to a 30% fuel savings.
Peterbilt’s Class 7 Model 335 uses the hybrid electric system for both on-road driving and stationary PTO applications. Also powered by the PACCAR PX-6 engine, it uses the system’s lithium-ion batteries to electrically operate the PTO. During bucket operation, the engine needs to run only about 1/6th of the time, versus non-hybrid vehicles. The engine then automatically starts to recharge the batteries, which takes approximately 4.5 minutes, and then shuts off. Fuel use, emissions and noise are greatly reduced when used in municipal and utility applications.
Maintenance requirements are also reduced from the regeneration reducing brake wear, as well as less wear and tear on the engine.
The low-cab-forward Model 320 Hydraulic Hybrid, for vocational stop-and-go applications such as refuse collection, utilizes HLA technology developed by Eaton Corporation exclusively for PACCAR. The system captures the trucks kinetic energy during braking to assist in launching and accelerating the vehicle. Testing has proven a significant improvement in fuel economy, and indicated the potential to reduce annual brake re-alignment services by 50% annually.
Hydraulic Launch Assist technology recovers up to 75% of the energy normally lost as heat by the vehicle’s brakes in the form of pressurized hydraulic fluid. This fluid is stored in an on-board accumulator until the driver next accelerates the vehicle.
In “fuel economy mode,” savings occur when stored energy is used to launch the vehicle followed seamlessly by power from the primary engine. In “performance mode,” the stored energy is released and blended with engine power at launch. Here, a double-digit savings in fuel economy can still be realized, along with an 18% improvement in acceleration.
It LIVES!!!
The grand experiment has left the drawing board and is now available for purchase as a product. This is wonderful news.
Posted by: Michael McMillan | 01 April 2008 at 03:33 AM
With trucking costs skyrocketing due to high fuel costs, economics is finally driving at least one market. Good for them!
Posted by: steve | 01 April 2008 at 05:08 AM
Cool. This is sorely needed. Truckers are clearly getting slammed by high diesel fuel prices. Hopefully other companies like Kenworth will get in the act too.
Posted by: Gerald Shields | 01 April 2008 at 06:54 AM
Kenworth is also a PACCAR company, so, yes , they already have access to this technology. I wonder what benefits hybridization would have for long-haul trucks, since they don't use their brakes very often. Maybe it's just not worth it for them, but it's definitely a huge benefit for garbage and delivery trucks.
Posted by: JamesEE | 01 April 2008 at 07:24 AM
I wonder if the hydraulic hybrid idea could be applied to a normal size family car. I suppose the tanks take up a lot space. Is it cheaper to build than electric?
Posted by: hydraulic what | 01 April 2008 at 08:04 AM
They have had concept vehicles (ford trucks) that use a hydraulic hybrid.
Long haul, In my personal vehicle it is possible to drive 300+ miles without touching the brakes when out on the hw.
A long haul truck has a transmission with many gears to keep the engine operating in the sweet spot for fuel economy anyway. Storing enough energy to help a 20,000 lb garbage truck go from 0 to 10 mph is one thing, storing enough energy to help a 80,000 lb truck maintain the speed limit which could be 75 mph while going up a steep grade and do it without exceeding axle weight limits is something else.
Electric hybrid vehicles like the prius and the civic use a batter pack made of 100's of "D" size batteries
$5000 for the cells alone. 38 modules of 6 @ $132 each
http://sales.digikey.com/scripts/sales.dll
http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-technical-discussion/35524-2001-prius-battery-problem-replace-cells.html
$3000 from a dealer
Hydraulic may be cheaper than electric for larger vehicles because as a tank gets larger the volume inside the tank increases faster than the material required to build it increases. But with electric you just have to keep adding more and more batteries, the rav4 EV has to haul around 1000 lbs of batteries, which have a capacity of 288V * 95 AH = 27360 watt hrs or about 37 HP*h
The Rav4 has a max time on %3 grade of 21 min and weighs 3500 lbs.
Is it worth hauling around 1000 lbs worth of batteries + the weight of an electric motor to give the truck < 2 min worth of boost?
Remember that trucks have a weight limit and every ounce that the truck weighs represents an ounce of cargo that they can't carry.
Would the resulting increase in fuel economy be enough to offset the decreased cargo capacity?
http://avt.inl.gov/pdf/fsev/eva/toyrav98.pdf
Posted by: rj | 01 April 2008 at 08:49 AM
Posted by: Reality Czech | 01 April 2008 at 09:55 AM
If I had to guess, I would say that if fuel cells were going to take off for transportation, long-haul big rigs, locomotives, and ships would begin to adopt them before they would for cars. I might be wrong, but I believe the price for fuel cells doesn't increase as fast as the size of the cell, and the infrastructure wouldn't be as difficult to fully develop.
My projection for transportation tech in the distant future is that light vehicles will increasingly replaced with plug-in hybrids using gasoline (and increasingly cellulosic ethanol) or diesel (incureasing using biodiesel (hopefully algae biodiesel)). Short-haul trucks will increasingly use regular hybrid diesel engines (the amount they're driven every day makes plug-in capability uneconomic). Long-haul trucks, locomotives, and ships--assuming hydrogen/fuel cells become more econmic--use hydrogen fuel cells.
Great work Peterbilt!
Posted by: Dan A | 01 April 2008 at 12:59 PM
This announcement could not have come at a better time, seeing as truckers in America are to go on strike to protest rising diesel prices. Bring on the EVs, the hybrids!
Posted by: NiraliSherni | 02 April 2008 at 02:25 AM
ALGAE IS THE ONLY LONG TERM ANSWER WITHOUT RE VAMPING THE ENTIRE TRANSPORTATION AND FUEL INFRASTRUCTURE
THINK ALGAE BIODIESEL
Posted by: CB | 02 April 2008 at 02:53 AM
The statement that rj made about the hydraulic ‘tank gets larger the volume inside the tank increases faster than the material required to build it increases’ is correct.
The volume of the accumulator nitrogen space us proportional to the square of the piston radius.
Reality Czech wrote, “There is no such savings. For a given gauge pressure, the thickness of the tank wall is directly proportional to the linear size of the tank.”
I looked up some Eaton specs and pressure rating is the same for different sizes of hydraulic accumulators. Therefore the thickness of the metal is the same.
What I find particularly interesting about the use of hydraulic hybrids is the synergy in trucks that already have hydraulic systems. It is also a good thing to keep electrical engineers away from trucks.
Posted by: Kit P. | 02 April 2008 at 10:12 AM
Heat recovery might be worthwhile for long haul trucks. There is probably lots of heat that could be used to increase efficiency and economy. Around town trucks with electric or hydraulic hybrid makes sense. Considering the fuel consumption of all long haul trucks taken together in a given year, there might be some real gains to be made.
Posted by: sjc | 02 April 2008 at 05:05 PM
@Kit P.
Hee hee. Thanks for the chuckle. We EEs don't really like cars or trucks anyway. If we had our way we would be "beaming" from location to location a la Star Trek type transporter tech.
But, *sigh*, there are a few of us sacrificial sparkies who were abandoned to the automotive industry by the Great Electron. We mostly just sit around and read newly expired patents, looking for crusty ideas for interior switches or antenna motorization.
Posted by: John | 04 April 2008 at 11:25 AM
Well John we will let you work on computerized controls of ICE until we can 'ring' about.
Posted by: Kit P | 04 April 2008 at 04:54 PM
I wouldn't be surprised if the fuel saved is more overall than saved by say the Toyota Prius given the high lifetime mileage of trucks. Definitely a worthy accomplishment.
Posted by: DC | 05 April 2008 at 11:33 AM
Hybridization certainly does makes sense for these medium-large, short- haul, local trucks.
There is a legitimate question of whether hybridization makes sense for Class 8 long haul trucking. But GE in its rail locomotive business seems to have answered the question.
They are pursuing battery hybridization for long haul locomotives. The fuel saving from augmenting a locomotive climbing grades with electric power, allows downsizing of the peak diesel KW. So battery electric assist appears worthwhile, therefore, the same would logically apply to smaller Class 8 tractors. And hybrid batteries can be used as power auxiliaries instead of running the main engine to provide HVAC in rest areas.
There is no doubt that T2B5 or even T2B2 is practical for Class 8.
Posted by: stas peterson | 05 April 2008 at 12:52 PM
The load leveling aspects of hybrid long haul trucks pays itself back in regenerative braking, acceleration and on uphill grades. Now combine heat recovery and you get even more power when you need it.
Posted by: sjc | 06 April 2008 at 04:34 PM