A glimpse into the future of trucking?
Many experts and most truck builders think that the industry’s future is with electric trucks.
So here’s a look at some of the technical details of electric propulsion, courtesy of Nikola Motor Co. It has developed two types of vehicles: battery-electric (BEV) and fuel cell-electric (FCEV). BEV will run a limited distance, and FCEV could be a long-hauler, at least when hydrogen – the preferred “clean” fuel for the cell – becomes readily available. Nikola packages all the parts in a chassis sporting a high COE cabin (COE designating cab-over-electric rather than cab-over-engine).
The COE configuration is what I first noticed upon arriving at the venue where the company showed off its Tre (for third model) to reporters last August. I wondered, why use a European-style cab in a land where conventional-cab trucks rule the roads?
Well, using an existing cab is simpler, less costly
and quicker than designing something from scratch. Several other e-truck builders active in the U.S. also use Euro tilt cabs.
Nikola’s cabs come from Iveco in Italy, and they replace the big, custom, live-in cab displayed on the Nikola One at a splashy introduction in 2016 near Salt Lake City. It imports the Iveco cabs and installs them on chassis assembled partly from North American-sourced parts at its plant in southern Arizona. Components for their electric drive systems, including the “e-axles,” come from Bosch in Germany.
Like other European COEs, this cab is tall and its four steps are vertical and harder to climb than the wide stair-type steps of a conventional.
Chet Price, a mechanical engineer who helps demonstrate Nikola vehicles, said there’s talk of modifying cabs to give steps an inward angle.
The cab’s floor is about 5.5 feet above the pavement, so instead of hopping down like I did when I was young, I carefully climbed down.
Inside, I was impressed by comfortable accommodations and a really commanding view of the road. Underway, the ride is smooth and the turning radius is an almost amusingly short 24 feet, according to a specs sheet. That, and the lack of a nose, are real advantages while dragging a long trailer around a city street corner or backing into a tight dock area.
Like any electric vehicle, the Tre has only two pedals, an accelerator and a brake. The electric motors directly drive the axle differentials, so there’s no transmission. Basically, you go, steer and stop.
For the progressive people who’ve begun buying e-trucks, and probably the drivers they employ, the COE style is fine for now. But a conventional-cab design (like some of the e-trucks fielded by established builders) will probably be needed to gain any sales volume in the over-the-road market.
Another matter is the price: “under $500,000,” execs said at the event. That would choke an owner-operator and stop most fleet purchases, but owner-operators might eventually find, as a few fleets are now, that local, regional and federal government grants make acquiring e-trucks financially doable. Plus, there’s no diesel to buy, and maintenance should be less expensive – though all those electric and electronic components make me wary.
This event was at the M1 Concourse, an automotive sports and entertainment complex in Pontiac, Mich. It includes a 1.5-mile track with short straightaways and sharp curves. The facility sits along Woodward Avenue (State Route M1) on former General Motors property.
We reporters took laps in several bobtail tractors and one pulling a moderately loaded semitrailer. I grabbed the semi first because it would give a more realistic feel for a Nikola e-tractor’s capabilities. Our gross weight was about 65,000 pounds, Price said. With 645 horsepower on tap, the Tre BEV pulled strongly, quickly getting up to 40 and 50 mph before slowing for frequent turns on the asphalt track.
Later, I drove a fuel cell truck. Like the BEV, it was quick, quiet and smooth, and it made a more normal-to-trucking 530 horsepower. In both types, batteries power electric motors hung on the rear axles. The motors can make an incredible 12,500 lb-ft of torque, though the torque is electronically limited so tires aren’t quickly vaporized, Nikola representatives said. The BEV has more juice on tap due to its six battery packs, compared to the FCEV’s two.
The fuel cell, also acquired from Bosch, chemically combines hydrogen with oxygen from the air – the opposite of electrolysis you might remember from chemistry class in school – to produce electricity. In any cell, fuel is fed to an anode and air is fed to a cathode. In a hydrogen fuel cell, a catalyst at the anode separates hydrogen molecules into protons and electrons, which take different paths to the cathode. The electrons go through an external circuit, creating a flow of electricity. Heat and water vapor are the only emissions.
The electricity goes to batteries that then power the motors. Thus the hydrogen fuel cell acts as a range extender, like a gasoline or diesel engine does by spinning a generator in a current hybrid vehicle.
The heat is shrugged off by running liquid coolant around the cells and then through a large radiator at the very front of the Tre FCEV’s nose. Water vapor condenses and drops onto the pavement.
Other fuels, including diesel, can also be fed to fuel cells, but they must be broken down to extract hydrogen so it can combine with oxygen, creating undesirable carbon emissions. Using straight hydrogen is cleaner and simpler, except that a supporting infrastructure is necessary.
Nikola officials are working with partners to establish a network of hydrogen fueling stations backed by production facilities – a “hydrogen highway,” said Ryan Clayton, a sales vice president. So are other companies. In California, Nikola has deployed mobile trailer-borne fueling stations. The Tre FCEV’s range is said to be 500 miles, just about right for a typical day’s run.
A fuel cell truck wouldn’t need electric charging stations – a major advantage, because planning, installing the chargers and supporting infrastructure can take two to three years, according to fleets now involved in the electrification process.
Establishing the e-truck world will take a lot of time and money. Owner-operators of the future will have to deal with this or sign on with fleets that will. Meanwhile, having driven several brands and types myself, I can say that driving the e-trucks will be an easy and pleasant change. If peace and quiet bother you, you can crank up the radio. And yes, Nikola trucks have them. LL