1. Home
2. Environment
3. Environmental Programs
4. ecoTRANSPORT
5. ecoFREIGHT
6. Road
7. Evaluation of performance and energy consumption of Electric trucks

Evaluation of performance and energy consumption of Electric trucks

Project Objective: Evaluate the economic and environmental benefits of using Utility Electric Vehicles (UEV) in replacement of equivalent gasoline operated vehicles.

Organization: Frito Lay Canada in collaboration with Smith Electric Vehicles (SEV US corp.)

Project Timeline: July 2010 to February 2011.

Project Results: The use of UEVs eliminated the use of gasoline and the resulting greenhouse gas (GHG) and criteria air contaminant (CAC) emissions and generated operational cost savings.

   Expected Annual Performance Results (Per Vehicle)

Vehicle	Distance Travelled1	Vehicle Efficiency2	Total Consumption3	GHG Emission4
Baseline vehicle (Ford E350 Cube Van)	20,000 km	27 L/100 km	5,400 L	12.7 tons
UEV (Smith Electric Vehicle)		78.62 kWh/100 km	15,724 kWh	0

¹ Frito Lay Canada’s anticipated distance travelled per UEV for a full year’s operating cycle.
² Efficiency obtained through historical data from Frito Lay Canada’s fleet for baseline vehicles and through the monitoring period for the UEVs.
³ Obtained by multiplying Distance Travelled and Vehicle Efficiency
⁴ Calculated from Total Consumption using Environment Canada’s latest emission factors at the time of this writing.

       Expected Annual Financial Results (Per Vehicle)

Description	Amount
Baseline Vehicle Operation Cost (Ford E350): 5,400 L at 1.157 $/L and $ 2,000 for maintenance	$ 8,248
UEV Operation Cost (Smith Electric Vehicle): 15,274 kWh at 0.073 $/kWh and $ 400 for maintenance	$ 1,548
Saving per UEV	$ 6,700

Project Description

With cost-shared funding assistance from Transport Canada’s Freight Technology Demonstration Fund,  Frito Lay Canada (FLC) demonstrated the potential of UEVs to replace conventional gasoline operated delivery vehicles (in this case a 5.4L, 5-speed automatic transmission Ford E350) that would otherwise consume fuel and generate GHG and CAC emissions. FLC evaluated the performance and electric consumption of UEVs purchased from Smith Electrical Vehicle (SEV US Corp.) with a cargo capacity of 4,560 lbs. Six vehicles were purchased destined for 4 different location, 3 of these vehicles were destined to operate out of the Brampton Ontario facility and were the 3 units used for the 15 week monitoring period to collect the necessary data to evaluate the performance and financial result of the UEVs.

The main components of the project can be summarized as such:

• Purchase of 6 Smith Electric Truck chassis (Kansas City, KS)
• Mounting of the 6 truck bodies supplied by Morgan-Olsen (Sturgis, MI) on the truck chassis
• Import finished vehicles and modify to accommodate electrical needs
• Train local mechanics on maintenance and company drivers on air brake use and safe, economical operating techniques

The project objective was to demonstrate the potential for electric vehicles to replace gasoline use – which generates GHG and CAC emissions – with the use of electricity as an alternative means of powering the vehicle. Expected co-benefits included lowered operating and maintenance costs.

Methodology

FLC determined the amount of gasoline consumption avoided by the replacement of gasoline operated delivery vehicles with UEVs. In order to achieve this, FLC:

• Tracked the distance travelled and fuel consumption of conventional gasoline operated vehicles in its fleet;
• Using the distance travelled and fuel consumption, calculated efficiency of these vehicles;
• Tracked the distance travelled and electricity consumption at the facility used to recharge the UEVs;
• Using the distance travelled and electricity consumption, calculated the efficiency of the UEVs and;
• Compared fuel costs to electricity costs in order to determine savings.

Detailed Project Results

Under optimal operating conditions, the UEVs performed to manufacturer expectations, eliminating gasoline consumption and associated GHG and CAC emissions.

Performance Results

Monitoring of the UEVs was done at the Brampton facility with 3 UEVs. The monitoring period lasted 15 weeks, during which time the UEVs travelled on average 3,387 km and consumed on average 2662.8 kWh. In comparison a gasoline operated vehicle would require 915 L to travel this same distance. The efficiency of the UEVs is calculated at 78.62 kWh / 100 km while the efficiency of the gasoline operated vehicle is determined to be 27 L / 100 km based on 500 such vehicles currently in service in Frito Lay Canada’s fleet.

Financial Results

Taking into account the above performance results, the financial impact of the UEV can be summarized as reducing the operating cost of a delivery vehicle from 31.24 $/100km to 5.74 $/100km. Based on Frito Lay Canada’s anticipated use of UEV, the fuel savings could climb up to $ 30,600 per year for the 6 already purchased vehicles. In addition to the fuel savings, a maintenance cost saving of $1,600 can be added for each UEV in service, increasing the total savings to $ 40,200. With a total project cost of $ 952,000 and annual savings of $40,200 the payback period estimated to be 23.6 years. Or simply put, each vehicle costing $ 158,667 will generate $ 6,700 in annual savings for a payback period of 23.6 years.

Conclusion

• This demonstration project was one of the first of its kind in Canada. The UEVs promise to eliminate emissions but it is still a leading edge technology with low adaptation carrying a significant capital cost premium. The initial price of the UEV is 4 times the equivalent of a conventional vehicle. FLC anticipates that the costs will be reduced if more companies adopt this technology and successfully demonstrate its potential. This will also spur more suppliers to produce such units creating competition, and further reducing prices. Frito Lay recommends that companies with appropriate and significant resources adopt this technology.
• Engineering and production issues associated with a new product line led to delays in project implementation.
• Temperature below five degrees Celsius caused unexpected drop in battery performance. It is clear that the electric trucks require additional development to improve reliability when operating in cold temperatures. Re-engineered batteries and truck heater systems are planned for installation to help minimize issues encountered in winter.

Date modified:

2012-02-16

Primary navigation