Despite what gets loaded into the hopper, the 26-ton truck’s emissions are clean, with each truck saving an estimated 130 tons of CO2 emissions each year over a diesel-powered model. The trash truck, built by PVI Electric Powertrain, features liquid cooled lithium-ion battery packs from Dow Kokam that tout a 10 year usable life and stability in extreme climates. Each truck will have five strings of seven battery packs, which provide the equivalent of 250 kilowatt hours of energy.

“This achievement demonstrates that real advanced battery solutions exist for the commercial and fleet industry today,” said Dow Kokam Vice President Jean-Francois Herchin. The company claims that it’s the first fully-electric trash truck with the performance of a diesel-powered truck, and perhaps one of the largest electric utility trucks on the road.

Utility vehicles like trash trucks — and the hybrid street sweeper we told you about last week — are ideal for electrification, as they travel fixed routes at predetermined times and often replace noisy, smelly vehicles in dense urban cores. The PVI electric trash truck is no exception. Drivers can pick up 16 tons of trash in two rounds of service with a recharge or battery swap during the driver’s lunch break or a shift change.

Anyone who has ever been stuck behind a slowly accelerating trash truck will be glad to hear that PVI designed a gearbox that allows the truck to climb hills without impeding traffic, and the electric drivetrain means that 100 percent of torque is available at acceleration.

The first truck will debut in the Paris suburb of Courbevoie as part of the fleet of SITA Ile de France, a division of Suez. By the end of 2011, another eleven electric trash trucks will hit the road.

Photo: Dow Kokam

Authors: Keith Barry

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