The Future?, page-167

FWIW

I thought i'd throw together ( Recap ) the Growing list of EV's out there at the moment, some you may have heard of, others might surprise you, but it's definately a Growing list around the World, Not to mention what's happening here at home in Aus atm, starting with,

World’s largest electric vehicle … with a 600kWh battery

If you think an electric Hummer as owned by film star and EV advocate Arnold Schwarzenegger is the bees knees when it comes to massive electric vehicles, think again.

An electric mining dumper made by Kuhn Schweiz AG smashes any such preconceptions, and not only in its enormous 111 tonne bulk.

The specifications of the converted Komatsu eDumper to make it fully electric include a massive 600kWh battery that alone weighs 4.5 tonnes.


Australia’s first fully electric rubbish trucks clean up in Casey

The first fully electric rubbish trucks to hit the streets in Australia have done so this week in Melbourne’s outer south east council, the City of Casey.

The 100% electric rubbish trucks, which have been developed by waste collection equipment maker SuperiorPak in collaboration with La Trobe-based electric truckmaker SEA Electric, will do the rounds in the streets of Casey, and are the first such trucks to be designed and made in Australia.

According to WM Waste Management Service‘s managing director Mark Jeffs, the electric hard waste collection trucks are a “triple win” for Casey: they are cleaner, cheaper and quieter than their diesel predecessors.


South Australia cleans up with first all-electric garbage truck

The first all-electric kerbside garbage collection truck is now operating in South Australia, as part of a fleet replacement program for metropolitan Adelaide.

Operated by waste and resource management company East Waste, the $550,000 electric truck made by Melbourne’s Sea Electric will save 63 tonnes a year of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.

But it’s not just a feel good initiative, says East Waste general manager Rob Gregory in a statement.

The truck cost a good $150,000 more to buy than the diesel kerbside collection truck it replaces, but it will in fact cost less to run over its lifetime, says Gregory.

“It will deliver financial gain to better manage the cost of kerbside collections of recyclable resources and waste,” he says.

“We conservatively project that our new electric vehicle will save more than $220,000 over the seven-year life of its diesel predecessor. Even with the extra $150,000 purchase price, that is a $70,000 saving.”

And it should last longer than 7 years says Gregory, with significantly fewer moving parts that mean maintenance costs are at least two-thirds less than a diesel equivalent.

But better than that, Gregory expects it that truck’s silent operation and lack of exhaust pollution will make it a welcome addition to the community’s waste collection vehicles.


All-electric vessels are shuttling tourists out to Niagara Falls

Tourists will now be able to enjoy trips to Niagara Falls powered by electric boats, as a result of a partnership between Swiss-Swedish equipment manufacture ABB and the Maid of the Mist tour company.

Maid of the Mist will deploy two new all-electric vessels, built within the United States, to take tourists on trips to the Niagara Falls, with the boats powered completely by high capacity battery packs.

“We are thrilled to be the US’s first vessel owner to add all-electric ferries to our fleet,” Christopher M. Glynn, president of Maid of the Mist Corporation said in a statement

“Maid of the Mist’s decisive move towards e-mobility signals a new era in the future of transportation and complements ABB’s commitment to power the world without consuming the earth,” President of the Industrial Automation business at ABB, Peter Terwiesch said,

“Reducing emissions at Niagara Falls is not only important for the natural landmark, but also proves that the technologies enabling sustainable mobility are already available today.”


World first: Port of Auckland inks deal to buy first electric tugboat

Ports of Auckland, the company which administers the freight and cruise ship harbour facilities for New Zealand’s largest city, announced on Monday that it has signed a contract with Dutch shipbuilding and engineering conglomerate Damen Shipyards to buy the world’s first full-sized, fully electric port tugboat.

The new tug – a Damen RSD-E Tug 2513 to be delivered in 2021 – will boast a 70-tonne bollard pull, the same as the Ports of Auckland’s strongest diesel tug, Hauraki, which was also built by Damen.

Unlike a diesel tugboat, however, the cost of operating an electric tug is less than a third of the cost when compared to a diesel tug.

The Ports of Auckland began investigating the role of electric, battery-powered tug’s back in 2016 when they made their commitment to be powered by zero emissions by 2040.

“In 2016 we set ourselves the goal of being zero emission by 2040,” said Tony Gibson, CEO of Ports of Auckland in a statement to the press.

“We set this goal because we recognise that urgent action is needed on climate change, and we wanted to be part of the solution. However, setting that goal created a tough challenge.

We have a lot of heavy equipment, like tugs, and in 2016 there were no zero emission options.”


Canberra on fire with “landmark” plans for electric firetruck

The ACT government has inked a deal with firetruck maker Rosenbauer to trial a plug-in hybrid electric firetruck in Canberra.

The landmark deal marks another step in the capital territory’s push to reduce transport emissions as described by minister for climate change Shane Rattenbury at the Electric Vehicle Transition Conference in Sydney on Tuesday.

The deal, which will see the ACT Emergency Services Agency (ESA) work with Rosenbauer to engineer the “Concept Fire Truck” (CFT) for Australian conditions, according to ACT emergency services minister Mick Gentleman.

“The development of the plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) fire truck is an important first step towards transitioning to a zero emissions emergency vehicle fleet,” Gentleman said in a statement.

“The ACT government is a leader when it comes to the adoption of electric vehicles. Developing a plug-in hybrid fire truck is a first in Australia and will show the wide application of electric vehicles beyond the personal car.

“Rosenbauer is one of the world’s largest firefighting technology companies. The concept fire truck technology has a fully electric drive with a diesel range extender and can carry all equipment needed.

​

“This partnership will see the ACT deliver the first plug-in hybrid electric fire truck fleet in the Asia-Pacific in the next three years. In the long term the ACT will benefit from reduced fuel consumption, cleaner air and secure its title as a leader in climate action.

“This is another important step towards ACT’s zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.

The mass move toward electric vehicles is coming, for light and heavy transport alike.”


This Might Be The First Commercial Electrified Fire Truck

https://insideevs.com/news/431815/electrified-fire-truck-volvo/

https://insideevs.com/news/category/commercial-vehicles/

Volta Trucks Is On A Mission To Become The Most Sustainable Manufacturer

https://insideevs.com/news/category/commercial-vehicles/


Norway aviation firm orders 60 electric planes tipped to be “Tesla” of flight

A Norwegian aviation group has ordered 60 all-electric eFlyer2 planes, built by Colorado-based Bye Aerospace, with the intention of training a future generation of pilots in electric flight.

The order was announced on Thursday (overnight, Australian time) by OSM Aviation, which specialises in the training and supply of aircrew and which says the electric aircraft will be used at its flight training centres to qualify pilots.

With aviation accounting for around 12% of all global transport emissions, the order is a step towards a sustainable future for OSM Aviation and Norway’s goal to shift all short-haul routes to electric flight by 2040.

“We’re proud to take the lead in the future of green aviation.” said OSM Aviation Group CEO Espen Høiby in a statement.

“This is the largest order for commercial electric planes to date.

“It’s important that the airline industry steps up to the challenge of developing more environment-friendly transport. At OSM Aviation, we’re committed to pursuing a socially responsible and sustainable business,” Høiby said.


SEA reveals its first all-electric cherry picker

Australian company SEA Electric had revealed the latest addition to its range of all-electric machines, launching what it says is the first electric commercial bucket truck.

Formally named the Elevated Work Platform Truck (EWP), and informally known as a ‘cherry picker’, the machine has been developed by SEA Electric to add another offering to the commercial truck market.

The SEA EWP truck has been paired with enough battery storage to fully power the operation of the elevated boom, and provide over 200km of range.

Electric vehicle alternatives have become an increasingly attractive option for fleet operators, particularly those managing vehicles that are in constant daily use, as the significantly reduced fuel costs more than offset the higher upfront purchase costs, delivering savings for businesses.

“The electric EWP truck is beneficial to industries requiring mobile elevated platforms as it provides significant savings on diesel, servicing and maintenance, resulting in low total life operating costs,” SEA Electric said in a statement.

​

“The communities in which this truck operates appreciate its zero noise, zero emissions and zero exhaust fumes.”


World’s second-largest ferry operator to make switch to electric

The world’s second-largest ferry operator, Washington State Ferries, in the north-west of the United States has reportedly made the decision to transition its fleet of ferries from diesel to battery, according to Greentech Media.

Ian Sterling, public information officer for Washington State Ferries, told Greentech Media that the state-run agency will seek to electrify its entire fleet of ferries, starting with the most polluting vessels, three Jumbo Mark II ferries which together consume 5 million gallons of fuel a year.

The agency has also initiated a new-build program for electric ferries that will apparently see Olympic-class electric-diesel hybrids entering operation within three years.

According to Sterling, Washington State Ferries consumes fuel at a level similar to a “midsize airline” which makes it Washington State’s largest polluter.

The agency annually consumes nearly 20 million gallons of diesel across its fleet of 22 vessels.

However, in line with Washington State Governor Jay Inslee’s mandate to strive for zero emissions, it is now moving ahead with an electrification effort which will likely see Washington commuters riding some variation on an electric-powered ferry “in the next couple of years.”

Ian Sterling also made the case that the agency was not making the move “just because the governor said to do it” but that “This is a good idea because it quiets the boats while obviously removing tons of diesel fuel emissions.

But even if you’re not an environmentalist, this is a good idea for the taxpayer because we expect it to pay for itself relatively quickly, based on the price of fuel. It saves millions of dollars annually.”


Renault fits first all-electric passenger boat with second life batteries

French automotive giant Renault has partnered with specialist maritime company Seine Alliance to unveil the Black Swan, the first electric boat designed specifically for private and business cruises on the Seine river which will be fitted with second life batteries.

The aim of Seine Alliance and its two partners – Groupe Renault and bespoke battery design company Green-Vision – is to demonstrate the effectiveness of circular economies which prioritise, in this instance, the reuse of electric batteries leading to a reduction in the need for extracting raw materials.

The Black Swan – which was unveiled to professionals last week at the Atelier du France – boasts zero emissions in operation and can fit between 2 and 8 people for a duration of around 2 hours.

Powered by two electric motors and requiring no generator or back-up internal combustion engine, the Black Swan is described as “a voluntary transformation approach towards reducing the impact of river activities on the environment.”

Most importantly, the Black Swan is powered by lithium-ion batteries taken from Renault electric vehicles once they have reached the end of what Renault describes as their “first car life” but which are then re-conditioned and re-purposed.


VW’s truck division to pour $3.3 billion into electromobility and digitalisation

Volkswagen’s truck division Traton announced at its parent company’s Innovation Day this week that it plans to invest more than €1 billion (AU$1.63 billion) into electro mobility and more than €1 billion into digitalisation in an effort to keep pace with the industry’s “radical” transformation.

Traton’s goal is to become the world’s leading provider of battery-powered commercial vehicles and is committing over €1 billion in research and development expenditure over the next five years.

Traton Group is developing a common modular electric powertrain toolkit which is set to be used for the first time in 2020 in serial produced all-electric city buses made by Scania and MAN – two of the company’s brands, along with Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus.

The modular electric powertrain toolkit “can be individually modified depending on the brand and area of use,” said Christian Levin, the COO and head of R&D at Traton SE.

“As a result, a maximum number of individual solutions can be produced with a minimum number of components and costs.”

The company’s drive to expand its electric offerings stems at least in part from their “customers’ interest in e-mobility,” according to Andreas Renschler, management board member at Volkswagen AG and CEO of Traton SE.

“In the mid-term, we expect that the total cost of ownership (TCO) of battery-powered commercial trucks used in distribution services and city buses will be comparable with vehicles powered by fossil fuels.”

“When we started this journey four years ago, attempts at e-mobility in commercial vehicles were brushed aside as experiments,” Renschler said.

“Today, we are already taking orders for electrically powered trucks and buses and are confident that over the next 10 to 15 years, every third truck and bus we deliver will have alternative drive systems, of which the majority will be purely electric.”


Ikea goes electric with zero emissions truck launched in Queensland

Swedish furniture retail giant Ikea’s Australian arm has added another clean and green electric delivery truck to its fleet, launched by transport service provider All Purpose Transport in Queensland.

The all-electric truck is another stepping stone towards Ikea Australia’s commitment to transition to a fully electric fleet by 2025 that it announced in March.

The commitment, which complements the home furnishings retailer’s leading role in switching to renewables including commercial scale solar and clean energy bulk buys, will see Ikea transition its fleet of 100 large trucks and 250 smaller trucks to 10% all-electric by FY2020 and 100% by FY2025.

The new truck from Victoria-based electric automotive company SEA Electric which creates zero emissions heavy duty vehicles from procured bodies and proprietary electric drivelines joins three others operated on behalf of Ikea in Sydney by ANC.


Zero contact and zero emissions: “Covid safe” electric taxis to launch in Sydney

A fleet of 120 electric taxis offering a “zero contact” transport alternative will launch in Sydney in coming weeks, the first in a planned 2,000 fleet as part of a “Clean Air Taxi” initiative by new e-taxi platform ETaxiCo.

As NSW begins to lift stay-at-home measures put in place to restrict the spread of the highly contagious novel Coronavirus, ETaxiCo plans to launch the fleet under a “Zero Contact, Zero Emissions” campaign.

Cities around the world report a vast improvement in air quality due to the drop in transport-related pollution, and the likes of Milan are considering measures to keep traffic down, and the e-taxi fleet is being touted as a small step for Sydney in the same direction.

The program has the support of Northern Beaches mayor Michael Regan as well as federal member for Warringah Zali Steggall, who ousted former PM and climate science denier Tony Abbott from the seat in 2019 on a platform of climate change initiatives.

Luke Todd, managing director of ETaxiCo’s parent company Nexport, says he also hopes the program will encourage a return to using taxis, which had already been declining before Covid-19 due to ride-sharing companies such as Uber.

“We believe it will inspire the taxi market to move organically towards to EV take up instead of ICE or hybrid,” Todd tells The Driven.

“While we applaud the efforts to date of many operators moving to hybrid, we are looking at taking it to the next level of complete zero emissions vehicles which will become mainstream in coming years.”

Zero emissions

The program presents as a perfect fit for many local and state council goals to reduce carbon emissions, such as the City of Sydney’s Sustainable Sydney 2030 and the NSW Net Zero plan that seeks to encourage fleet transitions to electric vehicles.

“Northern Beaches council has been really warm to our initiative,” Todd says. “They provide us with dedicated priority positions at the front of existing ranks that are marked as EV only. In the Northern Beaches area we have three prime spots and an electric taxi is permitted to move to front of queue, and that promotes the Clean Air Taxi initiative.”

When the program launches – which is at this current time planned for next month depending on Covid-19 factors – it will be using 15 specially fitted e6 electric compact SUVs made by Warren-Buffet backed EV and battery maker BYD that have been imported by Nexport, with plans to expand the fleet to 120 by August.

The vehicles, which are right-hand drive and have been approved for driving on Australian roads, are the same that have been deployed in a 45,000-strong taxi fleet in China’s industry centre of Shenzhen.


Call the electric ambulance! Tokyo metro goes zero emissions with Nissan NV400

Japanese automotive manufacturer Nissan and the Tokyo Fire Department announced on Monday the addition of a new Nissan NV400 zero emission ambulance to the Ikebukuro fleet in Tokyo.

The introduction of the new Nissan NV400 Zero Emission (EV) Ambulance is a first for Japan and the first electric vehicle ambulance in the Tokyo Fire Department fleet – part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s “Zero Emission Tokyo” initiative.

“Nissan strongly believes in sustainable mobility and strives to contribute to a world with zero emissions and zero fatalities,” said Ashwani Gupta, representative executive officer and chief operation officer at Nissan.


Contracts awarded for Brisbane’s $1b all-electric Metro bus project

Brisbane’s proposed 60-strong fleet of all-electric buses is a step closer, with design and engineering tenders awarded for what will be a major overhaul of Brisbane’s public transport infrastructure, and one of the largest deployments of all-electric transport in Australia.

The Brisbane Move consortium was selected as the successful tenderer for Brisbane City Council’s electric bus network, with the consortium being made up of engineering firm Arup, and international sustainable infrastructure firm Acciona.

The Brisbane Move consortium will be responsible for the engineering design and delivery of the major infrastructure works required of the Brisbane Metro project, which will include a new underground station at the city’s Cultural Centre Precinct.

As part of the project, Brisbane’s Victoria Road bridge will also be closed to general traffic under the plan, and will be exclusively used for buses, and with improved access for both pedestrians and cyclists.

“Arup is extremely proud to help create a sustainable, city-shaping project that will provide greater movement, greater growth and create more jobs and investment opportunities for Brisbane,” Arup Queensland region leader Beth Woods said.

The new Brisbane Metro project will deploy 60 trackless electric buses, across two routes, each with the capacity to carry 150 passengers. The buses will be used to link suburban areas to the Brisbane central business district.

​

The $1 billion project will provide high-frequency electric bus services, running with a frequency of up to three minutes, with 18 stops.

“Brisbane Metro will breathe new life into our city as we emerge from the coronavirus crisis. That’s why we’re pushing ahead with major works, including the boring of new tunnel under Adelaide Street, so we can create 2600 jobs and supplier opportunities for Brisbane,” Lord Mayor of Brisbane Adrian Schrinner said.

As was announced late last year, the purpose built buses and charging network will be developed by Swiss bus manufacturer HESS AG, in a partnership with Australian-based manufacturer Volgren and engineering firm ABB.

It is expected that the buses will be charged at the end of each route using a “flash” charging system, with charges the buses in less than six minutes, before commencing the next route.

HESS has developed a roof-mounted charging system for electric buses, will allows for up to 450kW of power to be delivered to the bus, providing ultra-fast charging capabilities suitable for public transport systems.


Gaussin Receives Record Order For 150 ATM FULL ELEC

It's high time to electrify logistics facilities.

French company Gaussin has announced that its distributor Blydd, has placed an order for 150 all-electric “shifters” - ATM FULL ELEC.

Taking into consideration that since 2017 the company sold about 50 units, (including three orders from Blydd for a total 46), it's a clear sign that electrification is taking off.

The ATM FULL ELEC are already used in "some twenty logistics facilities in France", and thanks to the battery swap option, some are able to operate round the clock. We saw the first pilot project with Gaussin EVs also in the UK.

Gaussin notes that the COVID-19 crisis boosted e-commerce, which now requires more vehicles at logistics facilities.

The ATM FULL ELEC can go only about 25 km/h (15.5 mph) using "wheel motors", but it has a towing capacity of 44 tonnes. The capacity of the lithium-ion battery pack was not revealed.

Gaussin boasts that its EVs have a number of advantages over the conventional road vehicles:
• Reduced size, compact machine
• Exceptional manoeuvrability
• FULL ELEC: Environmentally responsible, zero CO2 emissions
• No noise pollution
• Total safety and visibility
• Rapid start-up and safe manoeuvring
• Low maintenance


*The pièce de résistance

Why are oil majors investing in electric transport?

There is a cliché in business that if you cannot beat the enemy, you might as well join them.

Oil majors appear to be waking up to the new reality that the future of road transport is pivoting to electric – some would say hydrogen.

And they realise that if they sit still, not only will demand for gasoline and diesel dwindle, but their extensive network of petrol stations will end up as stranded assets as more electric cars are likely to want to charge up rather than fill up.

Not surprisingly, they have been snapping up promising start-ups in electric vehicle (EV) charging, electric storage and battery business as fast as they can identify them.

For them, the investments required to acquire promising companies are small change, rounding errors compared to massive investments in upstream exploration and development.

The most active oil major in this space has been Shell, which recently divulged a coherent strategy to shift to electric (article on page 5).

Recently, it has made several strategically important acquisitions including Sonnen, a German battery company, and last year’s takeover of UK power supplier First Utility, which has given it direct access to retail electricity consumers in the US for the first time.

It also bought New Motion, one of Europe’s largest electric vehicle charging enterprises.

The decision to snap Sonnen is noteworthy, suggesting that Shell has concluded not only that Sonnen was doing interesting things on its own, but it could offer a strategic beachhead in the energy storage business to compete with the likes of Tesla and LG Chem.

With its acquisition Shell now has an opportunity to play in distributed energy storage, suitable for homes and small businesses, as well as utility scale storage and get into the lucrative electric vehicle (EV) charging business, where the company has recently made a number of other acquisitions including in fast-charging start-up Greenlots.

It is entirely consistent with its vision to become a global electricity company over time.

Oil companies are closely watching what others are saying and doing.

Diversifying away from oil andinternal combustion engines (ICEs) makes perfect sense if Shell is reading BP’s latest annual energy outlook (preceding article), which acknowledges that renewables will become the dominant forms of energy supply within 10 years.

BP says renewables will account for 30% of global power by 2030 while predicting the rapid demise of coal and declines in both gas and nuclear.

Shell’s diversification strategy is being implemented through Shell’s New Energies Division, which is focused on electricity – rather than liquid fuels – to power future fleets of cars and light duty vehicles.
(Listen to our podcast interview with Brian Davis, the head of Shell’s new energy solutions business  here).

This, you might say, is oceans apart from what the rest of Shell’s organization does.

Explaining its latest acquisition, Mark Gainsborough, the executive vice president of New Energies said, “Sonnen is one of the global leaders in smart, distributed energy storage systems and has a track record of customer-focused innovation.

Full ownership of Sonnen will allow us to offer more choice to customers seeking reliable, affordable and cleaner energy.”

Welcoming Shell’s acquisition and its deep pocket, Christoph Ostermann, the CEO and co-founder of Sonnen, said Shell was the “perfect partner” to support growth in a rapidly expanding market.

“With this investment we’re excited to help more households to become energy independent and benefit from new opportunities in the energy market. Shell will help drive the growth of Sonnen to a new level and help speed up the transformation of the energy system.”

In a later statement, Sonnen announced that it was planning to scale up rapidly in new markets, expecting to scale up production 5 to 10 fold in the next 24 months.

Clearly, Sonnen will no longer have to worry about where its next round of investments will come from.

Shortly after, Shell acquired energy technology company LimeJump, a digital energy platform which uses its portfolio of batteries to provide demand-response services using cloud-based software – according to a press release.

LimeJump said that it will continue to focus on its “three main objectives: paving the way to a more sustainable energy future; maximizing revenue streams for all decentralized asset owners; and utilizing data science and technology to enhance the interplay between renewable supply, demand flexibility and energy storage.”

Shell has said it wants to double its investments in low-carbon energy technologies to $4 billion/yr – small change for Shell but a huge fortune if you are a struggling Silicon Valley start-up.

Shell, of course, is not the only oil major getting into battery storage, EVs and EV charging business. France’s Total, for example, already owns a majority share in SunPower, while acquiring Safe for $1.2 billion.

In the meantime, BP acquired EV charging company Chargemaster and StoreDot.

https://thedriven.io/2019/04/02/why-are-oil-majors-investing-in-electric-transport/




Food for thought

GLTA-AVZH's

Frank