Electric traction gains the interest of the global trucking industry. Right now, Peterbilt introduces an electric version of it’s Model 520 refuse truck. Tis is a widely used truck in the US, to be specified with either a Paccar or a Cummins diesel engine, a Cummins Natural Gas engine and now also with a battery electric drive system.
Peterbilt has accumulated 80.000 miles of testing , constantly hauling a 36 tonne load. The truck has a range of 65 miles and a single charge takes eight hours. There’s also a 70 kW onboard battery charger which can charge the Lithium-Ion batteries in two to four hours.
The electric refuse truck of Chinese battery producer BYD offers a payload of ten tons and a range of 76 miles. The BYD also has an electric power-take-off for the refuse body’s hydraulic system. There are several ways in which the batteries of the truck can be charged.
In Europe, there are similar initiatives of the truck industry, most notably from Daimler and MAN.