Electra Commercial Vehicles has won funding to build a long-haul 40-tonne temperature-controlled drawbar battery electric vehicle as part of the Escalate Project.
The funding, from the European Horizon 2022 framework, will see the Escalate Project bring together a pan-European, 37-member consortium from 13 countries to advance the development of heavy electric vehicles above 40 tonnes.
The focus is on developing electric drive, including battery electric, fuel cell, and fuel cell range-extended vehicles.
The aim is to deliver five pilot vehicles to demonstrate technological improvements over 42 months using the €19m fund with a focus on the range, efficiency, and design of components.
Electra's role in the project is to build one of the pilot vehicles – a 40-tonne drawbar battery electric vehicle capable of achieving 800km on a single charge with demonstrations planned for the UK and Germany. The truck will be based on an Electras' eStar LEM27-350 chassis and will include an energy-efficient electrically powered refrigerated systems. The truck will also get a high-performance insulated box body and a tail lift as well as lightweight, low-profile solar panels to contribute to range maximisation.
The technology introduced on all pilot vehicles will be benchmarked against today's vehicles to demonstrate the advancements made and complemented with digital twins – computer simulations of the proposed solutions designed to speed up the testing and verification process.
Ben Smith, MD of Electra Commercial Vehicles, said: “We are very excited to be involved with this project while working with multiple new companies. The ground-breaking technology they will bring to the vehicle will shape a new chapter in Electra’s story. We are eager to showcase our industry-leading capability to design and integrate components into heavy-duty long-haul trucks. This project will be the perfect platform to demonstrate our skills and expertise in delivering sustainable zero-emission propulsion solutions.”
Steve Storrar, projects manager for Electra Commercial Vehicles, added: “Although this is a complex project with many partners, the collaboration will bring together the best solutions for heavy-duty electric and fuel cell vehicles for the UK, European and global markets. The planned demonstrations will showcase the possibilities with heavy trucks and hopefully remove some of the anxieties associated with operating and charging electrically driven HGVs.”
Year: 2020 | Body Type: Box | Cab Type: Sleeper | Registration: KR69JYN | Mileage: 381,059 km | Category: Rigids
Year: 2019 | Body Type: Box | Cab Type: Day | Registration: BV19FCC | Mileage: 284,558 km | Category: Rigids
Year: 2020 | Body Type: Box | Cab Type: Day | Registration: FP69HRA | Mileage: 269,201 km | Category: Rigids
