Fuel/Emissions
Daimler rolls out electric trucks for North America
PORTLAND, Ore. – Daimler Trucks North America has unveiled electric Class 8 and medium-duty trucks today, with plans to have a 30-truck “innovation fleet” working in selected applications before the end of the year. “It is our target at Daimler to have the broadest – the absolute broadest – e-truck fleet in North America by 2021,” said president and CEO Roger Nielsen, as an electrified version of the Class 8 Cascadia rolled by.
Shell truck touches down
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The starship has landed and the results are in. The Starship Initiative truck sponsored by Shell lubricants and AirFlow Truck Company finished its cross-country test drive of more than 2,300 miles (3,700 kilometers) on May 24, concluding the first journey a Class 8 truck of this kind has driven coast-to-coast across the U.S.
Dirty Secrets: Carriers call for emissions crackdown
TORONTO, Ont. -- Clean air comes at a cost, and it involves the emissions-related changes to exhaust systems and engines, sometimes introducing added maintenance costs and reduced fuel economy in the process. That’s led to one of the trucking industry’s worst-kept dirty secrets. Many truck owners are reprogramming electronic control modules to bypass SCR (selective catalytic reduction) systems, which reduce unwanted NOx by introducing diesel exhaust fluid to the combustion process.
Bosch slashes NOx, without adding components
Flat Rock, Mich. – Bosch says it has pioneered an emissions reduction technology that can cut NOx emissions to 10% of levels seen with current diesel-powered cars, and without adding components. Not only that, the company says the technology can be scaled up for use in medium- and heavy-duty diesel engines. The supplier based in Stuttgart, Germany, unveiled the technology in April and offered further details during a North American press event this week. Alex Freitag, director of engineering with Bosch’s powertrain solutions group, said the new approach to NOx emissions will keep diesel engines in the game for years to come without adding significant costs to the vehicle. "The value proposition of the diesel engine is maintained with a minimal impact on fuel economy," he said.
Volvo electrifies in Europe … again
GOTHENBURG, Sweden – Volvo Trucks has unveiled another electric truck in the form of the Volvo FE, just three weeks after unveiling its first all-electric truck in the form of the Volvo FL. The FE is designed for city distribution and refuse operations with gross weights up to 59,500 lb.
