Innovation

MT editor Steve Hobson, Russell Markstein, group commercial director of Electra and Kate Norton, sales general manager, commercial, UK & Ireland, at sponsor Goodyear Tyres UK

Electra Commercial Vehicles works with chassis and body manufacturers to make new HGVs 100% electric powered. Its all-electric trucks are aimed at operators needing a zero-emission solution to comply with increasingly stringent air quality regulations.

The Blackburn-based business works with glider platforms and full systems including canbus from major truck makers. This means features such as automatic braking and lane assist are not impacted by the chassis being electrified. It can build 100% electric versions of popular refuse truck models based on approved gliders for the Mercedes-Benz Econic, Iveco Eurocargo and Dennis Eagle Elite.

Each one has small series type approval and uses its own electric power take-off (e-PTO) to operate refuse bodies, fridges, cranes and other engine-driven applications.

City of Manchester Council, through its waste contractor Biffa, has been operating an Electra 26-tonne refuse collection vehicle for more than a year with a 200kWh battery. It’s charged overnight at the council’s depot, goes out and collects 10 tonnes of waste, discharges the load and then collects another 10 tonnes (an average of 1,600 bins per day), discharges the second load and returns to the depot – all on a single charge and with the same payloads as its diesel equivalent. The average fuel cost for diesel is around £100 per day; it’s now £12 per day for electricity, with the benefit of zero emissions.

In April, the City of London Corporation will be taking delivery of seven Electra RCVs as the first local authority to operate a full fleet of zero-emission bin lorries.

Reynolds Catering has been operating the Electra refrigerated trailer for a number of months. The 60kWh battery uses approximately 17kWh to get to -22C and then operates at 3kWh excluding the power generated from the fabric solar panels. A trailer of this nature would previously have operated with a diesel auxiliary engine, whether it was stationary or being driven.

The judges said: “Looks an exciting business with great potential, and has great supplier partnerships in place. An accessible electric solution is a welcome step forward.”

"We’ve won the award because we produced something that’s deliverable. The proof of concept is that high pollution, slow moving vehicles that don’t meet Euro-6 can be replaced with a zero emissions vehicle. It’s reflected in the orders we’ve now got – about 130 trucks." 

Russell Markstein