Photo courtesy Balqon
Who says electric vehicles have to be tiny, sveldt and light weight? Why can't electric vehicles be large and beefy enough to haul serious cargo loads? Balqon has proved this with a line of heavy duty (class 7 and class 8) trucks powered by electric motors and lithium-ion battery packs.
On Jan 19 they announced the latest of their trucks, the XE20. It is designed for off-highway container or trailer "spotting" use and is designed for speeds up to 25 miles/hr and to haul up to 40 tons of cargo. Clearly the "yard tractor" tag on this truck means it's meant to haul stuff around in a facility or short distances around town. Field demonstrations conducted at a large beverage distribution warehouse and an industrial manufacturing facility showed lower energy consumption over competitive diesel powered vehicles operated in similar environments.
They claim a 94 mile unloaded range and 50 mile loaded range. The truck has a 140 kilowatt-hour, 324 volt, battery pack with a full battery management system. The "flux vector" controller is rated at 240 kilowatts, driving a heavy duty 200 hp AC motor. The control system includes a USB port for "data acquisition" as well as the expected CAN-BUS system. The 20 kilowatt "standard charger" gives a full recharge in 6 hours and there is no word whether they have a more powerful charger.
For comparison, the Nissan LEAF has a 24 kilowatt-hour battery pack. The XE20 has a 140 kilowatt-hour battery pack. (see Technical specifications for the Nissan LEAF)
Balqon also sells the E30 (45 miles/hr, 90 mile loaded range, 30 tons cargo capacity) and M150 (55 miles/hr, 90 mile loaded range, 7 tons cargo capacity) trucks. (see Clean trucks for clean ports and harbors)
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