Could hybrid tech help diesels in the future? – Cargo Tech

Diesel fuel isn’t going anywhere.

I know that I spend a lot of time on myself Cargo Tech The blog talks about new low- and even zero-emission driveway technologies. And rest assured, those systems are coming to trucking sooner rather than later.

However, for the next two decades or so – and possibly longer – most North American fleets will rely on diesel fuel to move cargo, especially in long-haul applications.

The conventional wisdom is that new energy technologies will take root on the coasts, and gradually make their way to the center of the continent. There are many reasons for this, including regulations, price increases, availability of incentives and, significantly, infrastructure.

So for most of the continent’s interior, diesel will remain the only viable fuel option for most ships for some time.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t use some of these amazing new technologies to improve the diesel engine’s performance.

At the end of the day, emissions laws and the push toward a net-zero trucking industry by 2050 are all about one thing: burning less diesel fuel until the time comes when the industry doesn’t need to burn any diesel fuel. And so, if the industry developed a cost- and weight-saving system that would give trucks 30% better fuel economy for city driving and 15% more on the highway, fleets would be interested, right?

Diesel-Electric Hybrid Powertrains

The new generation of “smart” diesel-electric hybrid power plants can do this. That’s why they could be a very important part of the next generation of Class 8 diesel power plants under development.

A hybrid drivetrain is simply an electric motor added to another conventional diesel (or gas) powertrain transmission. The system stores kinetic energy from the trucks’ batteries when applied in a relatively small battery pack. When necessary, the electric motor’s transmission turns the drive wheels on the truck to help the diesel engine and not burn more fuel.

Diesel cars are less efficient and pollute more at the low end of the torque curve, when a big car is working to get off and rolling at cruising speed. However, the electric motor in the hybrid drive train can provide instant torque to the truck’s drive shaft. In many cases, the electric motor alone will power the car up to 30-25 mph while the diesel engine simply idles until the track begins to make good forward motion and consistently contribute more horsepower. . Once the diesel hits its fuel economy sweet spot at highway speeds, the electric motor stops contributing to the drivetrain until it’s needed again.

The truck industry was first swept up in the early 2000s by diesel-electric convertible trucks. While the systems worked well, they were heavy, hard to operate and ultimately cut down on cheap fuel prices.

Today’s new hybrid drives are much lighter and use new electronic engine control technologies to respond in a “smart” way to the diesel engine under the hood up front. These new electric motors can electronically “talk” to the truck’s automatic transmission and kick in to help not only when the truck starts up, but when it encounters strong winds on a high grade or long westbound cruise across the Great Plains. And, as a type of hybrid system, they can offer a dedicated all-electric operation thanks to the load, which eliminates environmental emissions in urban or industrial areas, which are completely taken over by the diesel engine.

It’s not just for diesel cars, says Hylion founder and CEO Thomas Healy.

“Hybrid power plants are a great way for ships to meet the needs of today’s shippers and regulators without having to wait for tomorrow’s infrastructure,” he said. When combined with internal combustion engines (ICEs), particularly those powered by renewable fuels such as renewable natural gas (RNG), these systems can provide very similar (or in some cases greater) emissions reductions without changing the fleet’s operating model. Installation of significant fleet or community-wide infrastructure investments totaling hundreds of billions of dollars.

A hybrid drivetrain could be the perfect stopgap technology to help a truck transition from diesel fuels with minimal disruption. Time will tell. But the technology is definitely promising and may get a chance to showcase its capabilities in boat operations in the near future.