UPS to Deploy Fuel Cell/Battery Hybrids as Zero-Emission Delivery Trucks

[mort]

The new system includes a high-power, 48-kilowatt-hour battery pack from Lithium Werks that sits between the chassis frame rails. Two 5-kilogram hydrogen tanks saddle the rails, while a 32-kilowatt fuel-cell module from Hydrogenics is stored below the hood, where a conventional engine would be.

IEEE Spectrum magazine Sept. 2018 [subscription req.]



-mort

[oil pan 4]

Each kilograms of hydrogen contains the energy of about 1 gallon of gasoline.
So they made a super expensive to operate delivery vehicle with very limited range.
These would only be useful in the city since I see UPS drivers going as fast as the truck will let them go on back roads, dirt roads and side roads.

[samwichse]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

Each kilograms of hydrogen contains the energy of about 1 gallon of gasoline.
So they made a super expensive to operate delivery vehicle with very limited range.
These would only be useful in the city since I see UPS drivers going as fast as the truck will let them go on back roads, dirt roads and side roads.

Each kg of hydrogen should get the truck 10-15 miles. At 10 miles, that's 100 miles of range, plus about 50 miles for the plug in part.

Most of these trucks run a route around 60-100 miles a day. I don't see where the range will be a limiting factor except in rural areas. Additionally, the average speeds are low and the trucks start and stop constantly, which is where EVs really shine. For higher speed/longer routes, they can continue to use diesel.

Seems like an interesting trade off between something quick to "recharge" and a buffer battery big enough to provide plenty of traction power and absorb plenty of regen without ****ting the bed in 20k miles.

I'm interested to see how this works out for them.

[oil pan 4]

A Kg of hydrogen costs several times more than a gallon of fuel and comes from natural gas.

[hayden55]

It will be interesting. A gallon of gas is 6.21 ish lb depending on temp. So 6.21lb of hydrogen is only $39.50.
Thats a bargain compared to 2.50/gal. lol
Interesting note the toyota mirai gets 67mpg and has three years of complimentary free fuel included.

[Hersbird]

These things are never about making financial sense on their face. They are about creating an image that inspires future business. So maybe when you see Nike you think social justice and not child labor. Actually that's a bad example because now 1/2 see child labor, and 1/4 see disrespect for the military and flag, and only 1/4 see social justice. At least with this UPS stunt some will see caring for mother earth, some will see cutting edge technology and few will see wasting money on gas. Maybe they can use these trucks to only drive sweat shop built Nike's bought from little guy stomping Amazon and it will all wash out in the end.

[jcp123]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

These things are never about making financial sense on their face. They are about creating an image that inspires future business. So maybe when you see Nike you think social justice and not child labor. Actually that's a bad example because now 1/2 see child labor, and 1/4 see disrespect for the military and flag, and only 1/4 see social justice. At least with this UPS stunt some will see caring for mother earth, some will see cutting edge technology and few will see wasting money on gas. Maybe they can use these trucks to only drive sweat shop built Nike's bought from little guy stomping Amazon and it will all wash out in the end.

I don't get that as a business model, but then again maybe that's because I don't see social responsibility as anything more than frivolous marketing. If they do what they say they will, I have zero other cares. But then, maybe I'm just an exception rather than the rule.

It's possible they see some benefit to this. I've seen UPS big rigs running pure CNG, Anheuser-Busch too, with no advertisement. If there's something else behind it, they aren't sharing it.

[oil pan 4]

A recent poll I saw showed republican and independents both strongly disagree with nikes socal justice BS.
I guess it takes a grown-up to see the hypocrisy in paying people in hand fulls of rice per day wages to make products so a multi billion dollar company can pay a man child millions of dollars to speak out against social injustice...

I say buy new ballance, some of them are made in maine.
I used to buy "factory tent sale shoes" where they would sell the production line screwups for dirt cheap.

But any who CNG is a very good truck fuel. Now with cheap natural gas is like having liquid fuel that costs less than $2 per gallon and makes less CO2 and NOx than diesel.

[Hersbird]

The cng trucks are probably done to avoid fuel taxes, not something a big corporation will advertise. For awhile there I bet the cost per mile on CNG was beating diesel.

[redpoint5]

This seems dumb from a practical standpoint. Probably good marketing to capture the many people who think they are in Mother Nature's good graces because they drive a Prius , shop local, and recycle.