11–20 of 579 posts
We are really letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. At this moment in time, Plug-in hybrids are the superior technology for nearly every application. I don't understand why they get so overlooked by consumers and manufacturers alike.
This is a step … where basically 9 months out of the year there is no emissions in the city and the trucks are effectively the same 1:1 replacement.
I also understand that this is a much harder article to write “the city got away with using the wrong tool for the job for years and now has to address the problem they created” (this cuts both ways). It probably seemed like a win win at the time but now a solution will need to be engineered to solve it… im also sure having a hybrid fleet (some ICE and some EV) will be great for times of increased demand and having backups when something breaks…
I wonder what the longer-term solution is for this? More trucks? Exchangeable batteries? Faster charging?
The easy solutions will go first, working its way up with better tech and design.
I think car/fleet size batteries isn't really feasible with swapping batteries. Small scooter batteries seems like a no brainer.
I wonder what the longer-term solution is for this? More trucks? Exchangeable batteries? Faster charging?
All of the above. Must Run trucks should probably be gas turbine hybrids, that can burn anything for fuel (diesel, biodiesel, Jet A, etc), versus full electric. https://www.forbes.com/sites/samabuelsamid/2016/06/07/mack-t...
That's just high tech engineer fantasy though.
Turbine is great for steady loads and terrible for cyclical loads which is what a garbage truck does all day. Electrical is great for cyclical but batteries just don't support the energy density to do it all day. You can theoretically bridge the gap real well with a hybrid system but it's only theoretical because in the real world other people's money is not actually an unlimited resource and you're not getting a turbine into anything cheaply. There's a reason you only see them in vehicles that are already fantastically expensive (tanks) and benefit greatly from some of the specific performance attributes. It would be really cool though...
Right now the trucks can do 1/3 of what they need with the batteries they have. Commercial vehicles like this are very much constrained by weight. The "nearly free" and shovel ready solution is to just raise the weight limit for the vehicles in question so they can pack on the other 2/3 of the batteries they need and let them roll around at 120k+ all day like concrete trucks. Sure you'll get a little more wear and tear on stuff but this solution doesn't require an unforeseen technology (battery) or economic (turbines) breakthrough.
To me, this is hard to understand. There used to be a saying “right tool for the right job” and I’m sure when Ford released the model T lots of people said “horses can do X while automobiles can not” This is a step … where basically 9 months out of the year there is no emissions in the city and the trucks are effectively the same 1:1 replacement. I also understand that this is a much harder article to write “the city…
I wonder what the longer-term solution is for this? More trucks? Exchangeable batteries? Faster charging?
Yea just better tech. It’s not a big deal. And it’s all in progress. News just likes to make headlines about anything new so you get scared about it.
> Because of the requirement that it fuel the entire fleet within an hour in the event of a snow emergency, natural gas hasn’t proved practical especially since CNG fueling stations require too much space in such a dense city, according to Commissioner Garcia. Right now the fleet is about to undertake initial testing with renewable diesel, which is not only better in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, but can be used as a complete replacement for diesel, not just as a 5 to 20% blend.
So they already forwent CNG (unlike most municipalities) because of this requirement.
I wonder what the longer-term solution is for this? More trucks? Exchangeable batteries? Faster charging?
I wonder if their trucks can do 8 hours of driving without refueling?