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Retrofitting trucks with electric drive and swapped batteries

Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2023 7:20 pm
by Stan



This procedure seems to tick all of the boxes for sustainability.
Using a fork-lift to fit the battery seems a bit brutal but he does say that robotics are on the way.

Re: Retrofitting trucks with electric drive and swapped batteries

Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2023 11:16 am
by Oliver90owner
Ticks all the boxes spot on for trucks and buses - if that can be achieved for vehicles in the UK. I suspect it will be more difficult with the plethora or lorry manufacturers and sizes in the UK, but the technology for the battery, motor and gearbox is clearly not beyond any retro-fit company.

I was pleasantly surprised at the minimal weight increase for that conversion. It would be good to see the pay-back expectation based on typical bus routes and truck journeys in the UK. Charging the depleted batteries on cheaper, chosen tariffs must be a large attraction for the likes of Eddie Stobart trucks, couriers, bus & coach companies, etc to reduce that pay-back for the extra batteries required for a fleet of lorries/buses.

If not being looked at already - in the UK - that video must bring it to the attention of some forward-thinking company to start the band-wagon rolling on this.

Re: Retrofitting trucks with electric drive and swapped batteries

Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2023 11:27 am
by Mr Gus
I anticipate the lorry industry will be buying into wind generation to offset warehousing operations & eventually truck fleets to afford themselves some price protection for BE-Lorries sometime soon, if they can push govt to assist, bearing in mind the far reaching, tendrils of the fossil fuel industry.

Maybe transport industry owned open to all commercial trucks, charging hubs for lorries at a few strategic points like stobarts.

Re: Retrofitting trucks with electric drive and swapped batteries

Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2023 11:55 am
by Mart
I thought it was a brilliant video, and the Janus team were extremely knowledgeable.

Also put to bed my ponderings over the last year or so regarding Janus and their choice to battery swap. They explained that they can update the packs as batt technology improves, but the key for me, was when they mentioned that these are heavy haulers, rated at 96tn. So they are going to burn electrons far faster than 'normal' European trucks, so charging times will be more significant for the drivers and down time. Hopefully a tacho break will handle charging times for many European and US truckers, but not at those Aussie weights ... I assume?