{"id":238330,"date":"2023-09-13T13:49:21","date_gmt":"2023-09-13T13:49:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automotobuzz.com\/?p=238330"},"modified":"2023-09-13T13:49:21","modified_gmt":"2023-09-13T13:49:21","slug":"adding-our-first-electric-truck-to-our-companys-fleet-facts-hurdles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automotobuzz.com\/news-features\/adding-our-first-electric-truck-to-our-companys-fleet-facts-hurdles\/","title":{"rendered":"Adding our first electric truck to our company’s fleet: Facts & hurdles"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the issues faced when trucks are air-conditioned is that drivers, after a full meal, fall asleep in the quieter & comfortable AC cabins, leading to accidents.<\/h2>\n

BHPian Raghuwire<\/strong> recently shared this with other enthusiasts.<\/p>\n

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Representational image from the manufacturer<\/p>\n

Disclaimer:<\/strong> Lots of personal stuff mixed in a story, and some tech details.<\/p>\n

TL; DR:<\/strong> Electric trailer of 55 tons Gross Combination weight, with 268KWH battery operationalized. Fun facts\/Musings in the end.<\/p>\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

I work with a major FMCG company in logistics, and I am slowly and surely becoming a fanatic of sustainability. From day-to-day activities to industries to news to work, there is a constant thought running in my mind, how do we make this carbon neutral?<\/p>\n

For example, I always download songs, as I feel streaming songs leads to more data consumption. I avoid buying bottled water on the go, and refuse water on flights, just thinking of the emissions. I strongly profess the hybrid work model, and the use of public transport for the same. In fact, I believe we should have a strong recycling tax & carbon tax on all new purchases, to ensure consumers pay to recycle for things they consume.<\/p>\n

In this state, one fine day 8 months back my boss called me and said, there is a manufacturer providing electric vehicles which we should induct.<\/p>\n

Journey to our first electric trailer<\/h2>\n

I was super excited and was already imagining myself driving one of these out during a flag-off session! So, I noted down the contact of the manufacturer and set up a meeting. During the meeting my euphoria soon turned to grief when I asked him, how we charge them, vendor replied we fast charge the batteries at 160KWH!<\/p>\n

Till then, everything I had read pointed towards the fact that, we need to mix slow charge and fast charge to ensure that battery range does not degrade. The vendor was confident about the product and assured us of a 4-year\/2500 charge cycle. The company being a start-up, mostly building retrofit trucks out of imported Chinese parts did not instil confidence in me. Even the Tata Nexon EV and Tigor EV in my family, come with a recommendation for slow & fast charging. I laughed at myself thinking, how I got carried away, without thinking of the practicalities.<\/p>\n

I took a couple of days and called my manager up and said that this is just a gimmick, we will be in soup with a failed project. But the manager was sure that we should try this, even with a 50% performance against the benchmark. But my interest was lost in it & I kept procrastinating.<\/p>\n

One fine day, I found the news that the Murugappa group had taken over the startup by paying 350 crores. This piqued my interest again. By then, I had read a lot more news online, about how most trucks, even Tesla, are coming up only with fast chargers. Frankly, with such huge battery sizes, there is no other option currently. Even our phones, can\u2019t do without fast chargers anymore. So, went ahead with closing the rates, contracts, AMC, Transporters, etc. and after 6 months, we flagged off the electric trailer in July 2023.<\/p>\n

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First Look at our electric truck, battery size and pack are huge!<\/p>\n

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The trailer body being built at the yard<\/p>\n

RTO issues<\/h2>\n

We were going the refurbished route, so we did expect a lot of issues with the RTO, especially \u2013 WB RTO. But even with the system being greased, I did not imagine that the trucks would stand idle on factory premises for a month! Even for a new truck, we need to register the model & RTOs are not sure of handling commercial EVs. Until launch, we did not know that the State permit was waived off for Electric commercial vehicles. A pleasant surprise this was.<\/p>\n

From getting multiple documents to getting revised\/new number plates from the original RTO & the original RTO going on strike for a few days due to local reasons, it was a roller coaster ride to finally get it all done. Remember the 300+ trucks which Adani purchased, they are not registered with RTO, as they work only inside the port.<\/p>\n

Electrical setup<\/h2>\n

Frankly speaking, if someone had told me that operationalizing three trucks would be so difficult, and entail emergency trips to the factory, visits to OEM suppliers, and government offices, I would not have believed them. The rated charging capacity of the truck is at 160 KWH. The premises where we were installing the charging facility had a sanctioned load of 70 KWH and was already overloaded when we replaced all gas\/diesel forklifts with lead acid-based electric ones. Getting the sanctioned load increased is in itself a project.<\/p>\n

We must get new transformers installed, a new HT connection, new meters, new poles, a higher deposit with the WBSEDCL (discom), commissioning from the discom, clearances, and approvals for the same. Post all this, drawing cables from the main board to the charger and facility shutdowns for connections. This enhanced capacity took 3 months to be commissioned. But even with enhanced capacity, we can afford only 100 KWH for charging.<\/p>\n

Charger setup<\/h2>\n

The charger provided (in fact most chargers at this capacity) is modular with rectifier models of 20 KWH (or other denomination). Hence, we are using 5 out of 8 modules to charge at a capacity of 100 KWH. Next is how do we design the charger station. I nor anyone had done this at the company. We finally decided to have an elevated platform of 3 feet, to prevent flood \/rain damage. Everything from the canopy height, and canopy extension in front, to the width and breadth (2.5 x 2.5m) of the station was a decision made with a lot of safety margin and inputs from OEM.<\/p>\n

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Charging connection<\/p>\n

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Charging at 80KWH, don\u2019t have the pic at 100 KWH<\/p>\n

Fun fact<\/h2>\n

The canopy extension in the front is super critical. It should be just enough for the truck to not hit and the charger cable to reach without much difficulty. If it is small, when the driver comes with the charging gun, it is usually pointed up, rainwater may fill the gun opening and spoil it when connected.<\/p>\n

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A very bad illustration of the same<\/p>\n

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Charger Installation \u2013 Representational pic from another company<\/p>\n

Vehicle Specifications<\/h2>\n

The electric trailer is one of the largest trucks which is operating in India. (Excluding ODC).<\/p>\n