Photo: Walmart via Flickr
When it comes to air pollution, a heavy truck is more damaging to the environment than 100 modern cars. Should some of those cars be Volkswagen diesels, that number could be slightly smaller, but it's still frightening.
The truth nobody talks about is that heavy diesel trucks are responsible for a very large portion of the harmful particles we breathe into our lungs every day, but since there is no alternative solution at the moment, things continue as they are.
There were some attempts to transport the trucks on railroad trailer cars, thus limiting the amount of NOx and CO2 emissions, but it turned out it was too much of a hassle and not financially viable. At the same time, there are voices saying that the Hyperloop - the new transport solution envisioned by Elon Musk and pursued by several companies now - could turn out to be better at transporting goods than people, in which case the problem would be solved. But only after a large new infrastructure were built, which would take time, resources and... would probably be done using heavy diesel trucks.
A company based in Florida is now claiming to have found a solution, even though it's only partial. Oakridge Global Energy Solutions Inc (OGES) is specializing in energy storage solutions or, as we like to call them, batteries. The company is "all about game-changing technology and products," says Oakridge CEO, Steve Barber, who is clearly better at casting a brighter light over his brand than we are.
Now, though, OGES has made a partnership with Freedom Trucking from Minnesota that will see the former provide the necessary batteries for the latter's electric trucks. Yes, it would appear that the guys at Freedom Trucking have developed an interstate truck with a gross vehicle weight (GVWR) of 80,000 pounds (36 tons) that's capable of traveling more than 400 miles (around 650 km) on a single charge. However, depending on how much of those 80,000 pounds are taken up by the batteries, the actual profit per pound of transported goods might be less impressive.
According to the company's release, this would allow the operators to save over $0.60 per mile compared to traditional diesel trucks, not to mention the significantly lower environmental impact. The propulsion system has been in the works for over five years, involving several parties including scientists from the Ohio State Universities. OGES says its progress had been stalled by the poor quality of the Chinese batteries used, but now that the Florida outlet became involved, the vehicles are ready for production in the second half of 2016.
There were some attempts to transport the trucks on railroad trailer cars, thus limiting the amount of NOx and CO2 emissions, but it turned out it was too much of a hassle and not financially viable. At the same time, there are voices saying that the Hyperloop - the new transport solution envisioned by Elon Musk and pursued by several companies now - could turn out to be better at transporting goods than people, in which case the problem would be solved. But only after a large new infrastructure were built, which would take time, resources and... would probably be done using heavy diesel trucks.
A company based in Florida is now claiming to have found a solution, even though it's only partial. Oakridge Global Energy Solutions Inc (OGES) is specializing in energy storage solutions or, as we like to call them, batteries. The company is "all about game-changing technology and products," says Oakridge CEO, Steve Barber, who is clearly better at casting a brighter light over his brand than we are.
Now, though, OGES has made a partnership with Freedom Trucking from Minnesota that will see the former provide the necessary batteries for the latter's electric trucks. Yes, it would appear that the guys at Freedom Trucking have developed an interstate truck with a gross vehicle weight (GVWR) of 80,000 pounds (36 tons) that's capable of traveling more than 400 miles (around 650 km) on a single charge. However, depending on how much of those 80,000 pounds are taken up by the batteries, the actual profit per pound of transported goods might be less impressive.
According to the company's release, this would allow the operators to save over $0.60 per mile compared to traditional diesel trucks, not to mention the significantly lower environmental impact. The propulsion system has been in the works for over five years, involving several parties including scientists from the Ohio State Universities. OGES says its progress had been stalled by the poor quality of the Chinese batteries used, but now that the Florida outlet became involved, the vehicles are ready for production in the second half of 2016.
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