The yard hostler is be on display at the World Maritime Day Parallel Event at Chelsea Piers in New York City, 16-18 October prior to undergoing additional development testing and ultimately being put into active service.

In EPA testing, the series hydraulic hybrid has shown a fuel economy improvement of 50-70%, along with a 30-40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, depending on the vehicle. The technology is ideally suited for use in yard hostlers and heavy-duty urban vehicles like city transit buses, delivery, and refuse trucks. It is also well suited for use in light-duty trucks and SUVs.

The hydraulic hybrid system stores kinetic energy captured during braking. The high regenerative efficiency is more than twice that of other hybrid technologies, resulting in the significant fuel economy improvements. Hydraulic hybrid technology replaces the conventional transmission, and allows engine operating modes that are independent of vehicle speed. This allows the engine to be used most efficiently, and even turned off during stops, slow speed cruising and during acceleration/deceleration, when stored hydraulic energy can be utilized.

FEV, the sole engineering contractor to the EPA on the hydraulic hybrid system, began with a clean sheet of paper. FEV designed, analyzed, conducted simulation, and fabricated the hydraulic drive unit. In addition, FEV fabricated other hydraulic systems and integrated them into the Yard Hostler. The project was performed for a partnership of US Environmental Protection Agency, APM Terminals, Parker-Hannifin, Kalmar Industries, R.H. Sheppard, Inc., Webasto, Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Separately, Parker Hannifin announced the commercialization of its series hydraulic hybrid systems for delivery trucks. (Post.)