Collaborative industry events – like Innovate UK's recent HGV conference involving public and private sector leaders – have found that even with significant subsidy, the transition to electric trucks has challenges to overcome in financing and infrastructure, as it stretches to meet ambitious emissions targets.
As around a third of road freight is refrigerated, a silver lining lies with innovative cleantech firm Sunswap, whose auxillary fridges – or refrigerated trailers – take the pressure off the switch to electric trucks. That's because Endurance, Sunswap's solar and battery-powered transport refrigeration unit (TRU) saves money and reduces emission, while being highly independent from the grid and the main truck.
So why would a TRU not be independent from the main truck? Well, as TRU manufacturers switch to hybrid-electric alternatives, there remains a major caveat: They typically draw energy from the truck's engine via a Power-Take-Off system. PTO still burns fuel to run the fridge system, but in a slightly more efficient way than a separate diesel fridge does. When electric trucks are rolled out, PTO-reliant e-TRUs will subsequently reduce the lorry's range, increasing delays due to charging, and the increased costs of charging on the road.
On top of that, these hybrid systems don't include an integrated solar array continuously topping the battery up. Investing in Sunswap's Endurance now unlocks constant energy savings due to its onboard (trailer rooftop) solar energy generation, that will fulfil around half of the energy requirements of a chilled or chilled-ambient TRU over the course of four seasons. These savings pay off the investment in Sunswap Endurance within 7 years.
Read about the 4 key ways that Endurance aids this transition by visiting the Sunswap website.
Find out more about Sunswap Ltd on their member profile page here
Member-created content 6 months ago | From members