Mercedes-Benz Trucks celebrates world premiere of the battery electric long-haul truck eActros 600, in Germany
Am I excited about this? No. I can't enthuse about electric vehicles. I think that the idea we can replace all our petrol/diesel vehicles with electric is pie in the sky at the moment. We already have commercial electric trucks on the road, mainly for local work, but these Mercedes vehicles are supposed to be capable of long distance work.
I read that this one has gone through a lot of tests, fully loaded and on mountainous terrain. If you want to find out more, check out the Daimler Truck web site.
For years manufacturers have been experimenting with reducing the weight of tractor units and trailers alike, to give the maximum payload. Cost of freight is paid by the tonnage and volume of the load. I can't see any pictures of the batteries buried deep inside this unit. On a diesel engine mechanics tilt the cab or lift the front grill to gain access for repairs. The battery bank must be under there somewhere. I wonder how the weights compare now.
I asked a friend once if I could see the batteries in her Tesla. She said no, they are underneath the floor and only the garage can get access to them. I find that a bit worrying.
Anyway, I don't like the look of this Mercedes truck. Can I say it is rather ugly. Is that allowed? 😝
I can't see an electric truck pulling this load. 102,750 kgs.
It's looking like a lovely day again today, so I must go outside. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip. ilona
I wouldn't say ugly, just anonymous. Can't see them replacing diesel engines, they say long haul, but how far is that? And how long to re-charge?
ReplyDeleteThe eActros 600 has three battery packs, each with 207 kWh. These offer an installed total capacity of 621 kWh. The batteries are based on lithium iron phosphate cell technology (LFP) and are characterized by a long service life.
DeleteRange of 500 kilometers without intermediate charging
Significantly more than 1,000 kilometers per day with intermediate charging during the legally prescribed driver breaks possible.
A prescribed drivers break is 45 minutes after 4.5 hours of driving.
Hmmm... assuming that the battery packs can be charged in tandem, then with 3x 150Kw feeds in 45 min you can only get around 50% charge back in the packs, so more than 1k km per day sounds optimistic.
DeleteI'm a bit worried about electric vehicles as I've seen reports in the press of batteries self igniting and causing a huge longlasting fire. Apparently its also very difficult to extinguish too. The worst was a car that developed huge faults and was completely unstoppable whilst being driven. Police eventually let it crash into their van to stop it. This has really put me off buying one, more so than the price.
ReplyDeleteSally from Devon
I think there will be a lot of teething problems. I saw a video report of a car catching fire while on the owners driveway. It spread with such ferocity that the front of the house also caught fire. The people got out just in time, but lost everything.
DeleteAllegedly lithium iron phosphate battery chemistry circumvents some of the fire hazard of the usual lithium chemistry used.
DeleteI am very worried about the electric cars as well….they just don’t seem right to me. Electricity isn’t safe
ReplyDeleteElectrical fires are more difficult to put out and can burn for ages. Electric scooters have caught fire. Now some insurers are saying they won't insure electric cars, and those that do, the premiums are very high.
DeleteHmm.... looks very down-in-the-mouth! Probably not surprising if you've got lug tons of batteries around all of the time. Considering the range of eg a top-end Tesla and the size of battery needed to shift that, the batteries on a truck like this must be massive to shift 40+ tons for several hundred miles, and need their own power station to provide enough current to recharge in less than days.
ReplyDeleteThis obsession with battery electric cars/vans/trucks seems to me to be a triumph of engineering over sensible design, surely more sensible to use a much higher energy density power source than batteries. Even hydrogen would be more sensible, although loose between a third and a half of the original electrical energy in producing/using the hydrogen.
Just checked out your link to the Daimler web site. I'm no HGV expert but gross vehicle weight of 44 tons with payload of only 22 tons sounds pretty crap compared to current diesel rigs, and surely that must translate into horrendous operating costs?
DeleteThey are quoting a payload of 22 tonnes, that is quite low for an artic. I used to carry 26 tonnes of cement in a tanker. Another thing they have to consider is the PTO, power take off, when using any equipment on the trailer, such as the blower on a tanker, the crane on a flatbed trailer, or the hydraulic lift on a tipper trailer. Also, will it power the night heater when the driver is asleep in the cab.
DeleteI was reading about the distance it can travel before needing to charge up. What about the continental driver who may be passing through several countries on a 3 or 4 week trip. Will they be able to find the charging pints.
Reading the web site it seems they are pushing the need to reach carbon neutral, whatever it costs. More and more customers of transport companies are attaching importance to CO2-neutral transportation of their goods – providers who cannot meet this requirement will miss out.
I did a CPC course, certificate of professional competence, and the hardest part I found was to work out vehicle costings. Transport managers are going to find it more difficult with an electric vehicle.
Thanks Will. Yes it is crap. They have been working for years to get the tare weight down as low as they can. Now they are going to fill it with batteries. It means it will cost more to move goods around, a cost that will be ultimately passed on to the consumer. As soon as these come on the road, everything will cost more.
DeleteNew photo added. How many batteries to pull this LHH monster?
DeleteLove the look of that rig!
DeleteThere’s probably about a potato sack’s worth of storage space in that trailer once all the batteries that are required to propel it are installed.
ReplyDeleteJust incase anyone loves the idea of battery power, I recommend reading a book called “cobalt red”.
Hope all is good with you Iona , Warren from ‘ull (Bath)
Hiya Warren. Good to hear from you. Howzit going? Still fighting the good fight? It's turning out to be a long slow drag to the top. I am soldiering on. Knowing you are there on the same page, gives me hope that there are many more people wide awake. I am deleting so many nasty comments now, but I am not giving in. Love my Life and nothing is going to change that. Bath was brilliant. ilona from SunnyScunny.
DeleteReply from Warren (edited)
DeleteNot sure if I’m fighting the good fight. I now live in a bizarre world were people now contradict what they previous said and not only do they refuse to apologise for what they said, they often deny actually saying it and the media that published what they originally said, does not question it.
Reports coming out now, a massive fire in a car park at Luton Airport. Hundreds of cars destroyed. Speculation says it was an EV that started it. That is not proven. They are blaming it on spontaneous combustion of a diesel car which rapidly spread. Diesel does not just catch fire, it needs a long exposure to an external heat source for it to do that. I suspect foul play.
ReplyDeleteI have just been talking to a transport manager from a company based in Dunstable. They run a fabulous fleet of MAN tractor units, with a variety of trailers, on all kinds of haulage work. He told me that they are not considering moving over to EV's at the moment. Very wise, I thought.
ReplyDeleteI won’t be getting an EV. Far too much hassle when I only have street parking and can rarely park outside my house due to the hours I work. The batteries only last 8-10 years before needing to be replaced at great expense and who knows what other parts of these vehicles won’t last. My current car is 13 years old and so far hasn’t needed huge amounts of expensive maintenance.
ReplyDeleteToo risky. I can't see it ever working.
DeleteElectric cars might be fine for city run arounds but not for longer distances.
ReplyDeleteOver here it can get to -40C in the winter. Now turn on your heater. Your electric car doesn't last long. I've heard of people who have bought the Ford Electric Pick up and get rid of it after a few months because it's just not climate compatible.
Add to the list of fires, a few weeks back there was a cargo vessel on fire on the east coast of the US. I seem to remember the firemen were badly hurt with a death as well. Cause? You guessed it. Battery started. The fire chief said that it was a whole new world of fire fighting ahead.
Thank you, that's interesting to know.
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