Gas and electric powered trucks

Iveco is going to try to use other forms of energy to power their trucks and has targeted electric and natural gas as the way forward. The alternative fuel use will thus reduce the Co2 emissions the company produce and should save money on fuel costs.

Many companies already use natural gas as part of their fleet operations. With Tesco.com and Coca-cola being two manufacturers who have adopted this form of fuel. In fact, Tesco.com has just ordered 25 Daily35S11s that use natural gas as part of its new van order last month.

Electric powered vehicles have already proved a success on mainland Europe but not yet with vehicles as large as HGVs. Iveco’s system uses a three phase motor controlled by a DC to AC inverter. Outputs can reach 80kW for 50C models.

One potential problem with electric technology is what to do with the electric batteries when they are at the end of their usable life. However Iveco have a solution. The manufacturer has stated:

“At the end of the vehicle’s life, recycling is not compromised; the Zebra batteries are completely recyclable.”