Canadian start-up Edison Motors may not seem like much at first glance — consisting of fewer than two dozen people in a large tent — but their idea of bringing series hybrid technology to semi-trucks may just have wheels. The concept and Edison Motors’ progress is explained in a recent video by The Drive on Youtube, starting off with the point that diesel-electric technology is an obvious fit for large trucks like this. After all, it works for trains.
In a series hybrid, there are two motors: a diesel generator and an electric motor (diesel-electric). This was first used in ships in the 1900s and would see increasing use in railway locomotives starting in the early 20th century. In the case of Edison Motors’ current prototype design there is a 9.0 liter Scania diesel engine which is used solely as a generator at a fixed RPM. This is a smaller engine than the ~15 liter engine in a conventional configuration and also doesn’t need a gearbox.
Compared to a battery-electric semi-truck, like the Tesla Semi, it weighs far less. And unlike a hydrogen-fuel cell semi-truck it actually exists and doesn’t require new technologies to be invented. Instead a relatively small battery is kept charged by the diesel generator and power fed back into the battery from regenerative braking. This increases efficiency in many ways, especially in start-stop traffic, while not suffering a weight penalty from a heavy battery pack and being able to use existing service stations, and jerry cans of diesel.
In addition to full semi-trucks Edison Motors also works on conversion kits for existing semi-trucks, pick-up trucks and more. Considering how much of the North American rolling stock on its rail systems is diesel-electric, it’s more amazing that it would have taken so long for the same shift to series hybrid on its road. Even locomotives occasionally used direct-drive diesel, but the benefits of diesel-electric hybrids quickly made that approach obsolete.
Continue reading “Series Hybrid Semi-Trucks: It Works For Locomotives So Why Not?”
