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H Y B RID ERA
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New requirements on air quality in European cities are encouraging the industry to start developing truas with alternative drivelines.
Some early examples were on show in Amsterdam — Tim de Jong checked them out.
ome British,German and Dutch cities are banning trucks that do not comply with the Euro-2 or 3 emissions standards un less they are equipped with particulate filters.Trucks that meet Euro-4 and 5 are currently allowed in, but in the future zero-emission vehicles will be the norm. Hydrogen and fuel cells appear to be the solution to this, but the smart money says this technology is at least two decades away from practical use and volume production.
Until then hybrid technology will be the industry favourite as the emissions laws will concentrate on CO, after Euro-6, which is expected to be in force by 2012.
Advanced hybrid designs Designs for these interim hybrid power plants are well advanced— a number were on display at the Amsterdam RAI Motor Show, all of them combining a conventional diesel engine with an electric motor.
Daf intends to start field tests by the end of this year, but nobody at the Eindhoven company is prepared to say if or when the LF hybrid will go on sale. Perhaps at the next RAI Show? "With the hybrid we intend to see how we can save all available energy," says Daf product director Ron Borsboom."A lot of energy is wasted in operation right now. We intend to store the energy that is released when the truck rolls or when the brakes are applied. Through this we look to reduce fuel consumption drastically in order to reduce emissions as well." Borsboom is not keen to quantify the likely benefits at this stage, but a reduction of about 20% seems feasible, judging by the achievements of the car manufacturers— notably"Toyota whose hybrid car has been on sale for 10 years now.
Diesel-electric combo
Dais hybrid LF features a 4.5-litre engine rated at 185hp coupled t.o a six-speed Eaton Autoshift box; the electric motor is squeezed in between the clutch and gearbox.
Daf uses lithium-ion batteries, which are currently the most powerful available. However, production of these batteries is not what it might be, and their reliability is still open to question. After all, it's not so long since Dell had problems with laptops equipped with these batteries bursting into flames. Even now Toyota shies away from using them.
Daf only expects the hybrid LF to run on battery power for a maximum of about two miles, depending on the load and the road conditions Instead the electric motor will be used to back up the diesel on tough hill climbs and to pep up the LF's acceleration.
Volvo, incidentally is following the same path as Daf.But Volvo is working with a heavier chassis— a three-axle FM that is apable of a GCW of 26 tonnes —so we have to assume the Swedes have found solutions to problems such as the sheer weight of the battery pack. Volvo expects its hybrid FM to go on sale within a year from the beginning of field tests,which will take place early next year. And it is quoting fuel savings of up to 30%.
Brilliant in traffic The advantages of hybrid technology in city raffle arc so obvious that Scania hardly -nentions the existence of hybrids in its mogramme. But the Swedes are experimentng heavily in the bus-sector."Stock holm -equires CO3-free public transport by 2020," iays Jonas Hofstedt, senior engineer at Scania.
This is why Renault showed its spectacularooking Hybrys truck as a waste collector.The 7rench firm has built a parallel hybrid around I seven-litre diesel engine like that in the Volvo programme.The Hybrys also has many dmilarities with the Daf solution.
The French have come up with a stop;tart system which makes it more efficient o frequently stop and start the engine again after a short while. Another novelty is that the Hybrys uses an electrically controlled parking brake. In terms of fuel consumption, Renault predicts "a substantial reduction", without naming any percentages.
Stop-and-go solutions will help to reduce emissions, including CO2.The passenger car industry is gearing up to introduce stop-andgo systems on a wide scale in order to meet the forthcoming European CO., emissions requirements.
As part of this process ZF has developed a device that combines the functions of a gearbox, a clutch and an electric motor. MAN is trying it out in its TGL trucks to find out how the cost compares with conventional drivelines which consist of more parts ZF has called its new technology EDA, freely translated as'electro-dynamic starter element'. It is certainly possible that we will see it appearing in MAN trucks and other marques in the future.
In Amsterdam Iveco displayed a EuroCargo in TNT colours.TNT is as high profile in the Netherlands as it is here, with a good reputation for innovation, It's currently experimenting with two electrically operated vehicles in the centre of Rotterdam to show local authorities how politically correct it is.
The hybrid F.uroCargo has a conventional Tector 5.8-litre straight-six turbo-diesel. assisted in this case by a 65hp electric motor that. like the Daf LF hybrid, sucks energy from lithium-ion batteries.A six-speed automatic gearbox transmits the power from either source to the rear axle. New also displayed a Fed-Ex coloured Daily with a similar but less powerful driveline.
Cutting down on waste
Everybody agrees that you can make good use of otherwise wasted energy with a hybrid driveline, reducing fuel consumption at the same time. But this will obviously not be a lasting solution. When hydrogen technology (aka the fuel cell) is perfected, the hybrid will have had its day.
In Amsterdam we also saw the Hytruck, a Mitsubishi Canter with a driveline comprising two fuel cells, driving two 11 hp electric motors in the wheels of the rear axle. It won the Innovation Award, but it is much further away from production than the wave of hybrids. •