Electrical Equipment: Cummins Shows Battery-Powered Semi before Tesla, News, Car and Driver, Car and Driver Blog
Electrified Big Equipment: Cummins Shows Battery-Powered Semi before Tesla
Mention Cummins, and whether you associate the name with pickup trucks—such as the Ram two thousand five hundred or the Nissan Titan XD—or with semis, you almost certainly think diesel. Now, weeks before Tesla is expected to expose details of its much anticipated electrical semi, Cummins has essentially hammered it to the punch with a fully electrified Urban Hauler Tractor that the company says previews “a series of next-generation, energy-diverse products.”
Cummins says that the truck, called the AEOS and termed a concept, has a “state-of-the-art battery pack” with improvements in energy density, driving range, and charging rate compared with other electrified vehicles. With one hundred forty kWh, the pack brings a range of just one hundred miles—although Cummins says that’s extendable to three hundred miles with extra (modular) battery packs.
The Indiana company also plans to suggest a range-extending engine generator option; it claims that such a setup offers a fifty percent fuel savings versus today’s diesel hybrid models.
Cummins displayed the truck in Class seven form for heavy-duty tractor-trailer hauling, with a gross vehicle weight rating of up to 33,000 pounds, albeit the company cites a Class eight weight limit of 75,000 for the tractor day cab. Tesla’s semi, according to a latest Reuters report, is focusing on the same day-cab format as well as regional hauling needs and claims it will provide two hundred to three hundred miles of range.
The weight of the electrified powertrain including the battery is about the same as that of the massive 12.0-liter diesel six, transmission, harass aftertreatment, and fuel tank. The truck, like many concept cars, gets rid of its side mirrors in favor of cameras, and its appearance takes some liberties with lower bodywork that are unlikely for production.
A solar array is one thing from the concept area that may work well on the AEOS, tho’. While putting solar panels onto passenger vehicles isn’t all that viable, covering a tractor-trailer roof with them should provide a better payback. A fully electrified semi would also quiet some roadways and eliminate the sometimes maligned (and sometimes loved) jake brake, reaping the efficiency benefits of regenerative braking in stop-and-go driving and mountainous terrain.
Electrified Will Be Part of a Range of Solutions
But there are slew of options, noted this established engine builder. Cummins also plans to roll out what it terms “a revolutionary heavy-duty diesel engine” in two thousand twenty two and is working with biofuels, synthetic fuels, and hydrogen fuel-cell technology.
Even if Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards are relaxed for passenger vehicles, the aggressive plan to dramatically cut carbon-dioxide emissions and improve the efficiency of our nation’s big equipments through two thousand twenty seven is likely to proceed, especially since the trucking industry and fleet buyers are almost unanimous in support of it.
Cummins and Tesla aren’t the only players looking to render diesel big equipments obsolete. Another company looking to carry out a similar vision is Nikola, which plans to create stout Class eight hydrogen fuel-cell trucks along with the hydrogen infrastructure to support them. And Toyota has launched a feasibility investigate using two Mirai fuel-cell stacks to power a zero-emissions short-haul Class eight semi.
While Tesla may have charmed many affluent luxury-car buyers into going electrified, managers of shipping fleets are an entirely different kind of customer, looking not at Tesla’s Ludicrous mode and Easter eggs but at operating costs, amortization kinks, manufacturer support, and downtime. Cummins has a lot going for it in that respect—diesel or not.
Electrical Equipment: Cummins Shows Battery-Powered Semi before Tesla, News, Car and Driver, Car and Driver Blog
Electrified Big Equipment: Cummins Shows Battery-Powered Semi before Tesla
Mention Cummins, and whether you associate the name with pickup trucks—such as the Ram two thousand five hundred or the Nissan Titan XD—or with semis, you almost certainly think diesel. Now, weeks before Tesla is expected to expose details of its much anticipated electrical semi, Cummins has essentially hammered it to the punch with a fully electrical Urban Hauler Tractor that the company says previews “a series of next-generation, energy-diverse products.”
Cummins says that the truck, called the AEOS and termed a concept, has a “state-of-the-art battery pack” with improvements in energy density, driving range, and charging rate compared with other electrical vehicles. With one hundred forty kWh, the pack brings a range of just one hundred miles—although Cummins says that’s extendable to three hundred miles with extra (modular) battery packs.
The Indiana company also plans to suggest a range-extending engine generator option; it claims that such a setup offers a fifty percent fuel savings versus today’s diesel hybrid models.
Cummins demonstrated the truck in Class seven form for heavy-duty tractor-trailer hauling, with a gross vehicle weight rating of up to 33,000 pounds, albeit the company cites a Class eight weight limit of 75,000 for the tractor day cab. Tesla’s semi, according to a latest Reuters report, is focusing on the same day-cab format as well as regional hauling needs and claims it will provide two hundred to three hundred miles of range.
The weight of the electrified powertrain including the battery is about the same as that of the massive 12.0-liter diesel six, transmission, harass aftertreatment, and fuel tank. The truck, like many concept cars, gets rid of its side mirrors in favor of cameras, and its appearance takes some liberties with lower bodywork that are unlikely for production.
A solar array is one thing from the concept area that may work well on the AEOS, tho’. While putting solar panels onto passenger vehicles isn’t all that viable, covering a tractor-trailer roof with them should provide a better payback. A fully electrified semi would also quiet some roadways and eliminate the sometimes maligned (and sometimes loved) jake brake, reaping the efficiency benefits of regenerative braking in stop-and-go driving and mountainous terrain.
Electrical Will Be Part of a Range of Solutions
But there are slew of options, noted this established engine builder. Cummins also plans to roll out what it terms “a revolutionary heavy-duty diesel engine” in two thousand twenty two and is working with biofuels, synthetic fuels, and hydrogen fuel-cell technology.
Even if Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards are relaxed for passenger vehicles, the aggressive plan to dramatically cut carbon-dioxide emissions and improve the efficiency of our nation’s big equipments through two thousand twenty seven is likely to proceed, especially since the trucking industry and fleet buyers are almost unanimous in support of it.
Cummins and Tesla aren’t the only players looking to render diesel big equipments obsolete. Another company looking to carry out a similar vision is Nikola, which plans to create stout Class eight hydrogen fuel-cell trucks along with the hydrogen infrastructure to support them. And Toyota has launched a feasibility examine using two Mirai fuel-cell stacks to power a zero-emissions short-haul Class eight semi.
While Tesla may have charmed many affluent luxury-car buyers into going electrical, managers of shipping fleets are an entirely different kind of customer, looking not at Tesla’s Ludicrous mode and Easter eggs but at operating costs, amortization forms, manufacturer support, and downtime. Cummins has a lot going for it in that respect—diesel or not.
Electrified Equipment: Cummins Shows Battery-Powered Semi before Tesla, News, Car and Driver, Car and Driver Blog
Electrified Big Equipment: Cummins Shows Battery-Powered Semi before Tesla
Mention Cummins, and whether you associate the name with pickup trucks—such as the Ram two thousand five hundred or the Nissan Titan XD—or with semis, you almost certainly think diesel. Now, weeks before Tesla is expected to expose details of its much anticipated electrical semi, Cummins has essentially hammered it to the punch with a fully electrified Urban Hauler Tractor that the company says previews “a series of next-generation, energy-diverse products.”
Cummins says that the truck, called the AEOS and termed a concept, has a “state-of-the-art battery pack” with improvements in energy density, driving range, and charging rate compared with other electrified vehicles. With one hundred forty kWh, the pack brings a range of just one hundred miles—although Cummins says that’s extendable to three hundred miles with extra (modular) battery packs.
The Indiana company also plans to suggest a range-extending engine generator option; it claims that such a setup offers a fifty percent fuel savings versus today’s diesel hybrid models.
Cummins displayed the truck in Class seven form for heavy-duty tractor-trailer hauling, with a gross vehicle weight rating of up to 33,000 pounds, albeit the company cites a Class eight weight limit of 75,000 for the tractor day cab. Tesla’s semi, according to a latest Reuters report, is focusing on the same day-cab format as well as regional hauling needs and claims it will provide two hundred to three hundred miles of range.
The weight of the electrical powertrain including the battery is about the same as that of the massive 12.0-liter diesel six, transmission, harass aftertreatment, and fuel tank. The truck, like many concept cars, gets rid of its side mirrors in favor of cameras, and its appearance takes some liberties with lower bodywork that are unlikely for production.
A solar array is one thing from the concept field that may work well on the AEOS, tho’. While putting solar panels onto passenger vehicles isn’t all that viable, covering a tractor-trailer roof with them should provide a better payback. A fully electrical semi would also quiet some roadways and eliminate the sometimes maligned (and sometimes loved) jake brake, reaping the efficiency benefits of regenerative braking in stop-and-go driving and mountainous terrain.
Electrified Will Be Part of a Range of Solutions
But there are slew of options, noted this established engine builder. Cummins also plans to roll out what it terms “a revolutionary heavy-duty diesel engine” in two thousand twenty two and is working with biofuels, synthetic fuels, and hydrogen fuel-cell technology.
Even if Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards are relaxed for passenger vehicles, the aggressive plan to dramatically cut carbon-dioxide emissions and improve the efficiency of our nation’s big equipments through two thousand twenty seven is likely to proceed, especially since the trucking industry and fleet buyers are almost unanimous in support of it.
Cummins and Tesla aren’t the only players looking to render diesel big equipments obsolete. Another company looking to carry out a similar vision is Nikola, which plans to create stout Class eight hydrogen fuel-cell trucks along with the hydrogen infrastructure to support them. And Toyota has launched a feasibility explore using two Mirai fuel-cell stacks to power a zero-emissions short-haul Class eight semi.
While Tesla may have charmed many affluent luxury-car buyers into going electrified, managers of shipping fleets are an entirely different kind of customer, looking not at Tesla’s Ludicrous mode and Easter eggs but at operating costs, amortization forms, manufacturer support, and downtime. Cummins has a lot going for it in that respect—diesel or not.