Daimler Truck North America (DTNA) will work with Hexagon Purus to completely integrate battery packs for the battery-electric Freightliner eM2 for vocational applications.

Earlier this year, Hexagon Purus built a battery plant in Kelowna, B.C., where it plans to assemble battery packs for commercial trucks. DTNA began producing the electric Freightliner eM2 medium-duty vocational truck in October.

We now know Hexagon Purus will supply the trucks’ battery systems, auxiliary modules, power modules and related software. It will also be responsible for power take-off options to supply power to vocational bodies and equipment. DTNA sees utility, sweeper, dump, construction, towing and refuse applications as well-suited for the eM2.

“We are excited about our collaboration with Hexagon Purus and the potential it holds for the future of electric vocational trucks,” said Aaron Scates, vice-president of vocational and medium-duty market development at DTNA. “With our shared history, combined experience, and the remarkable battery technology offered by Hexagon Purus, we look forward to yielding effective and flexible solutions for our vocational customers.”

“We are proud to continue our long-standing relationship with DTNA, and we look forward to supporting them on this vocational vehicle program and in driving their transition to zero-emission mobility,” added Morten Holum, CEO of Hexagon Purus. “DTNA has been an important zero-emission technology development partner for Hexagon Purus in North America for several years through our participation in the Innovation Fleet program.”

Previous Hexagon and Freightliner work

The two companies are not strangers. Hexagon’s Agility division has previously supplied and integrated natural gas tanks for Freightliner. Hexagon Purus, meanwhile, supplied the battery packs for the very first Freightliner eM2 electric trucks that were rolled out as part of the Freightliner battery-electric Innovation Fleet.

In August, Hexagon Purus announced a long-term supply deal with an unnamed OEM to supply and integrate battery packs for vocational trucks. TruckNews.com visited the grand opening of Hexagon Purus’s new battery plant in Kelowna in April, when Holum told us the company’s work with the first-gen eM2 was vital in growing its battery business.

“The significance of the Innovation Fleet was, you got those batteries on live testing with customers early on,” Holum said in an interview. “It demonstrated this actually works quite well and you gain a lot of experience and get all that data. We have all this knowledge, and now you can improve what you have. You can now put it out to new customers and have experience that few other companies are having, then you’re able to stay ahead of the pack when it comes to the technology itself.”

DTNA said it was attracted to Hexagon’s kWh-per-meter-of-frame-rail packaging, which the company says is the most energy-dense battery pack in the business and leaves more frame rail space available for packaging vocational bodies.