MERCEDES-BENZ

BRAND ELECTRIC TRUCK TAKES TESTS IN GERMANY AND SWITZERLAND

Mercedes-Benz Trucks is advancing in the development of electric vehicles. The brand will begin testing customers with the first heavy electric truck, eActros. Ten units, in two versions (PBT of 18 or 25 tons), will be delivered to transporters who will test their practicality and economic efficiency on a day to day basis, under real conditions of use. In the long run, the goal is to be silent and emission-free driving in urban environments, with trucks produced in series for this application."Daimler Trucks is synonymous with innovation leadership, especially when it comes to electric mobility. From now on, we want to work together with our customers to further advance the development of Mercedes-Benz eActros, with the aim of making it a technically and commercially viable proposal for daily operations "Says Martin Daum, board member of Daimler AG and world leader of Daimler Trucks and Daimler Buses. "We are starting this process with an innovative fleet and we will support testing in the logistics environment of transporters. This will allow us to understand what still needs to be done in terms of technology, infrastructure and service to make our eActros competitive,"We are reviewing the two- and three-axle versions of our heavy-duty electric truck for customers. Initially, the focus will be on the urban transportation of goods and delivery services, and the autonomy needed to do so is well within eActros's goal." Stefan Buchner, Mercedes-Benz Trucks world leader.





Electric truck fleet will be used for one year"We developed a vehicle that was configured from the ground up for electric mobility. Compared to our prototype, launched in 2016, a few changes were made: the power supply is now made by eleven battery packs and whenever possible we use proven components that are already ready for series production or are very close to that " , emphasizes Stefan Buchner. "Ten customers from various industries participate in the test. The companies are: Dachser, Edeka, Hermes, Kraftverkehr Nagel, Ludwig Meyer, pfenning logistics, TBS Rhein-Neckar and Rigterink, Germany, and Camion Transport and Migros, Switzerland. "For this test, we selected conveyors that work with different applications, from food and building materials to raw materials. The eActros will be used for operations that would be performed by vehicles with diesel engines.EActros drivers have been specially trained to work with the vehicles. Customers will test the models for twelve months. Then the trucks will be passed on to a second group for another twelve months of use. "This will enable us to meet the many requests we have received from transporters and gain even greater insight," says Stefan Buchner. "Our goal is to reach mass production and market maturity for a line of economically competitive electric trucks for heavy transport operations by 2021."

Autonomy of up to 200 kmThe base of the heavy-duty Mercedes-Benz electric truck is provided by the structure of the Actros. However, in a different way, the vehicle's architecture was configured specifically for an electric propulsion system with a high proportion of specific components. The traction axle, for example, is based on the ZF AVE 130, which has already shown positive results in the hybrid buses and powered by the fuel cell of Mercedes-Benz, having been fully developed for the eActros.The propulsion system has two electric motors located next to the wheel hubs of the rear axle. These motors are liquid cooled and operate at a rated voltage of 400 Volts. These propellers generate 125 kW of power each, with individual maximum torque of 485 Nm. Gear reductions convert this torque to 11,000 Nm each, resulting in a rolling performance equivalent to that of a diesel-powered truck.

The maximum permissible axle load is maintained at the conventional 11.5 tonnes. Energy for a range of up to 200 km is provided by two 240-kWh lithium-ion batteries, which have also been used on the EvoBus bus. "Synergies like this within the Daimler Group allow us to share our experiences, shorten development times and, of course, save costs," says Stefan Buchner.The batteries are in eleven packages: three in the chassis area and the other eight further down. For safety reasons, battery packs are protected by steel compartments. In an eventual collision, the assemblies yield and deform, thus diverting the energy away from the batteries without damaging them.High-voltage batteries do not provide power to the propulsion system alone, but to the vehicle as a whole. Auxiliary components, such as the air compressor for the braking system, the power steering pump, the cabin air conditioner and, where applicable, the refrigerated body, are also electrically powered.The batteries can be fully recharged between three and eleven hours, assuming a load capacity of 20 to 80 kW. The load standard used is the Combined Charging System, CCS. The low-voltage on-board network consists of two conventional 12 Volt batteries, charged by the high-voltage batteries through a converter. This ensures that all important functions of the vehicle, such as lights, indicators, brakes, air suspension systems and cab systems are kept in operation, should they occur in the high voltage network or shutdown.



Grants support development of electric vehicles
The development and testing of heavy electric trucks for distribution are part of the 'Concept ELV²' project, which receives funds from the Federal Ministry for the Environment of Germany (BMUB) and the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), with total value of about ten million euros. The areas covered by the financing plan are development, assembly and operation, which includes use of high voltages (up to 400 V), high currents (up to 1000 A), battery technology (price, weight, durability, service life, load, autonomy and energy needs, load infrastructure and logistics concepts, safety requirements, summer and winter feasibility, as well as questions about the customers' acceptance of vehicles.The fleet will run through the middle of 2020. The goal is to establish the energy needs for various applications as well as the economic efficiency of electric trucks and to compare the environmental performance of the innovative models with that of diesel engines in a Cycle Assessment Life Cycle Assessment. The results of the research will be sent to customers during the test as a way to optimize the operation and will be published, giving potential carriers the opportunity to optimize their route planning or develop new business models for their logistics methods.

Daimler leads the development of commercial electric vehicles
The Daimler Group is a leader in the development of commercial electric vehicles. ECanter, from the Asian brand FUSO, was the first all-electric light truck produced in series. The eVito Mercedes-Benz has also been available for orders since November 2017 and will begin to be delivered to customers as of the second half of this year. The next in line are the fully electric urban bus Citaro and eSprinter.As you can see, commercial vehicles from Daimler Trucks, Daimler Buses and Mercedes-Benz Vans ensure that all aspects of urban transport are served by electric models. Along with the load capacity, the main objectives are sustainability and noise reduction. It is precisely in these situations, where frequent stops, braking and accelerations are part of the operation, that the advantages of electric propulsion technology are important. The inhabitants of the cities gain purer air and less noise. And as an added advantage, electric trucks are not, to a large extent, affected by restrictions on access to urban areas.


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