Smith Delivers First Electric Trucks to Major US Corporations
28 July 2009
Smith Electric Vehicles US delivered the first electric Newton trucks—the largest commercially available battery-electric-powered truck—to four Fortune 500 companies and two utility companies in an event hosted at the Capitol Reflecting Pool on the National Mall in Washington DC. (Earlier post.)
First recipients include:
- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)
- Coca-Cola Enterprises
- Staples
- Frito-Lay
- AT&T
- Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L)
The Smith Newton electric truck is powered by lithium-ion batteries from Valence Technology and a 120 kW induction motor for a range of more than 100 miles on a single charge. Payload is more than 16,000 lbs (7,257 kg). The on-board battery charger can achieve a full battery system recharge in as little as 6 hours.
Smith Electric Vehicles US, a Delaware corporation headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., is a privately held company owned by Private Investors Management and The Tanfield Group Plc, based in the United Kingdom. Tanfield is the parent company of Smith Electric Vehicles in the U.K., the leading manufacturer of zero-emissions battery-electric commercial vehicles in Europe since the 1920s.
Smith Electric Vehicles has produced the Newton truck in Europe for more than three years and has sold vehicles to major fleet operators in sectors such as mail and parcel delivery, logistics, retail, highway maintenance and airports.
Too bad ZEBRA batteries were not used. After the power level of ZEBRA batteries gets to low for vehicles they can be used in power systems for many more years. several failed cells makes little difference. The failed cells can also be replace or removed and the remaining cells put into a cheap foam glass container instead of a very expensive new vacuum panel box. Cells usually fail so that current can get to the other cells. The whole battery just has dropped one cell's worth of voltage, and can continue working.
ZEBRA batteries can deal with any temperature without an extensive, expensive cooling system.
Functioning ZEBRA cells from used batteries should be put to other uses until they fail, and ony then should they be melted down.
A Honda 3000is should be bolted to the frame like a spare tire for emergency range extending.
..HG..
Posted by: Henry Gibson | 01 August 2009 at 02:45 AM