Dragonfly Energy is taking its lithium battery auxiliary power unit (APU) concept to the heavy-duty trucking market, after finding success in the RV and marine segments.

Wade Seaburg, the company’s chief revenue officer, introduced the company to the trucking trade press during the Technology & Maintenance Council’s spring meeting.

“Over the last 15 months, we’ve been leaning pretty hard into this marketplace,” he said, “coming up with a better solution for hotel power needs.”

The company has served the RV and marine industries for more than 10 years. Dragonfly does its own research and product development at the cellular level, producing lithium cells that can better satisfy drivers’ engine-off power requirements than lead acid batteries and their related APUs.

It has more than 300,000 lithium batteries in circulation. Its batteries are compatible with all common air-conditioning brands. The Battle Born electric APU sits between the frame rails and is integrated into the truck’s HVAC system.

It can power everything from TVs, fridges, microwaves, CPAP machines and gaming consoles. Dragonfly is working with the fleets to push this product into the marketplace.

“We had to go educate the fleets. They are the consumers of the battery and they were having frustration having to replace their AGM batteries constantly,” said Seaburg.

The savings can be substantial. Seaburg said a truck consumes one gallon of diesel fuel for every hour it idles, which totals about 1,800-2,500 hours a year. Diesel-powered APUs cost about US$12,000 to install and today’s electric APUs may go through 16 AMG lead acid batteries, Seaburg said.

“We want to turn the diesel engine off, and have zero emissions. We are able to do that with lithium batteries in a cost-effective way,” he said.

Partnership with Velociti

At TMC the company also announced it is partnering with Velociti to get the product into the marketplace at no risk to the customer. The Battle Born Batteries APU is being offered through Velociti’s Instant ROI program, which allows the customer to use the savings generated by the technology to finance the purchase.

“We created our Instant ROI program many years ago to bridge the gap between the technology our fleet customers desired and their ability to implement it due to hurdles like upfront investment and integration challenges,” said Deryk Powell, president of Velociti.

“We’re constantly researching cutting-edge technologies we believe will give our fleet customers a competitive edge in challenging economic and regulatory conditions. When a solution like Dragonfly Energy’s all-electric APU emerges, we’re thrilled to encompass it within the Instant ROI program. We believe this unique solution holds significant potential for the industry.”

The Instant ROI program defers billing during the installation and deployment of the systems and extended payment terms on the hardware, software and support so that fleets can benefit from the technology without a substantial up-front cost.