Latest news with #hybridelectric
ABC News
6 days ago
- Automotive
- ABC News
Canberra's issue-plagued $1.6 million hybrid electric fire truck is out of action again
A $1.6 million hybrid electric fire truck, delivered to ACT emergency services two years ago, has been taken off the road again due to battery issues. Meanwhile a fully electric truck which arrived in late 2023 is yet to enter service. Costing about $700,000 more than a diesel truck and touted as an Australian-first when the agreement with manufacturer Rosenbauer was signed in 2021, the plug-in hybrid electric fire truck did not go into operation until late last year. Even then, for several months it had to be accompanied by another fire truck when it attended emergencies, in case it did not work as intended. The truck was taken off the road in January due to a problem with its main water hose pump. Now, an ACT Emergency Services Agency (ESA) spokesperson has confirmed it is again offline, this time over a "mechanical issue involving its battery packs". "Our teams are working closely with the manufacturer to resolve the issue and return the vehicle to service as soon as possible," the ESA said in a statement. An ACT Auditor-General's report has slammed the process used for procuring the truck, saying it failed to adequately assess the vehicle's value for money. The United Firefighters Union says it was negotiating an enterprise agreement with ESA, at the same time as the deal with Rosenbauer was being signed which mandated the deployment of an additional pumper and crew to a new fire station in Acton by the end of 2021. The Rosenbauer hybrid electric fire truck was to be based at the Acton station. The station was not completed until last month and became operational this week. The union's ACT secretary Greg McConville said the absence of the hybrid electric fire truck was a source of "great frustration". "We're using conventional pumpers and the reason for that is that despite all the work our members have done trying to get [the hybrid electric truck] on the road, it keeps being beset with problems," Mr McConville said. "A conscious decision was made to get that truck, instead of two other conventional trucks which were tried and proven. "And the result of that is that we are three years late in getting additional resources on the road to protect the Canberra community. "The Canberra community expects fire protection; it doesn't expect trinkets and unfortunately that's what this seems to be turning out to be," he said. Meanwhile, a New Zealand designed and built Volvo electric breathing apparatus (BA) truck, spruiked as "the nation's first zero emissions logistics vehicle" on the ESA's website, is also off the road. It was acquired by ACT emergency services in 2023 in a multi-million-dollar deal with Volvo to deliver seven vehicles. The ESA said the BA truck had an "intermittent fault that was depleting the 24v battery system". "ESA worked with Volvo to diagnose the cause of the fault which proved difficult to replicate in controlled conditions," the spokesperson said. The ESA confirmed the BA truck has never been operational, but expects it will be handed over to the ACT Fire and Rescue in the coming weeks for crews to begin a commissioning and familiarisation process. Mr McConville said it was another sign of poor procurement processes and planning. "The decision to procure the hybrid truck, the breathing apparatus vehicle ... and the plug-in hybrid cars at headquarters were all made by the ESA or the [Justice and Community Safety Directorate]," Mr McConville said. "None of them are living up to potential. "I mean, who buys electric vehicles when they don't own charging infrastructure? "These decisions need to be made closer to the coalface and directly involve firefighters. "That's simply not happening," he said. ESA Assistant Commissioner of Capability, Glenn Brewer, insists "public safety is not implicated or affected". "Fire trucks are certainly not invincible, they do go in for service quite often," he said. "That's why we maintain a 50 per cent reserve for our frontline pumper fleet and it's one of those reserve vehicles that's replacing the electric pumper at the moment." Assistant Commissioner Brewer said issues with firefighting vehicles are common — regardless of their power source. "Vehicles are frustrating regardless of what the vehicle is, they are always going in always struggling with issues that we need our wonderful mechanics at ESA workshops to be able to work through," he said. Because the Rosenbauer vehicle was the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, Assistant Commissioner Brewer said ESA needed to go through a process to get it registered with the heavy vehicle regulator. "When this vehicle was first delivered to us it did have internal, electronic mirrors," he said. "It didn't have mirrors on the outside. The heavy vehicle regulator in Australia hadn't necessarily seen that before. "Obviously when you start to take delivery of a new vehicle — especially a specialised vehicle like a fire truck — there's absolutely some teething problems that you need to go through and there's always going to be problems that you find, regardless of whether the vehicle is an electric vehicle or a diesel vehicle. An ACT Legislative Assembly committee inquiry which examined the damning auditor-general's report made 10 recommendations for greater transparency around the acquisition of the hybrid electric fire truck and improvements to procurement processes. The government agreed or agreed-in-principle to nine of those recommendations. Assistant Commissioner Brewer said the agency doesn't plan to acquire further hybrid or fully-electric fire fighting vehicles in the near term but, they'd likely be part of the fleet in the future. "We want to bed-down these concepts first and make sure that they're working the way that we want them to before we progress any further," Assistant Commissioner Brewer said. "But there are fire services across the rest of the world that are buying electric vehicles and are looking at more electric vehicles. It is absolutely the way of the future. "Transitioning to an electric fleet and going across to electric fire trucks is absolutely one way of reducing [fire crew's] exposure to diesel particulates. "If the opportunity arose we'd absolutely consider an electric vehicle."
CTV News
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- CTV News
‘The first machine of its kind': Campbell River manufacturer creates first hybrid electric logging yarder
The first hybrid electric logging yarder has been put into business in Vancouver Island's Campbell River. T-Mar Industries Ltd, a Campbell River based manufacturer that specializes in building machines for the forestry industry, has developed the first ever hybrid electric logging yarder. 'This is the first machine of it's kind anywhere,' says Tyson Lambert, VP of T-Mar Industries Ltd. A logging yarder is a crane like machine that has been used in the industry more than a century. 'It's basically a zipline for logs,' adds Lambert. 'You put a log yard in a logging setting that's inaccessible to machinery.' Called the 7280E Hybrid Electric Drive Yarder, it has taken T-Mar five years to develop and uses electric drives that share power back and forth like a hybrid vehicle. '(It's) very different from a traditional machine where it's all mechanically linked and gears and clutches have to engage to make everything work,' says Philip Biebach, mechanical engineer for T-Mar Industries Ltd. According to T-Mar, the 7280E is more powerful, easier to run, better on fuel, and requires less maintenance than a typical yarder. It will also reduce the carbon footprint in the forest by using less fuel and reducing emissions, the company says. 'The engine is going to be spending all of its time at the peak clean burning region,' says Biebach. 'And not blowing the big cloud of black smoke every time you accelerate.' The first hybrid electric forest yarder is weeks away from being deployed into it's first logging operation, and the forestry industry will be watching closely. 'They really want to see this machine work because they're interested in using similar machines in their forestry operations,' adds Lambert. T-Mar adds this first-of-its-kind machine will be operated by a local forestry company on the west coast.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Startup unveils game-changing electric truck with impressive capabilities: 'Looks like a smart product'
In late April, Harbinger, a startup commercial electric vehicle manufacturer, unveiled a new medium-duty, hybrid electric truck boasting a range of up to 500 miles, Electrek reported. The California-based startup is using the $100 million investment it recently raised in its Series B round of funding in January 2025 to develop this hybrid electric truck for wide-ranging medium-duty fleet uses, including delivery, garbage collection, and more. While the commercial transportation industry has made great strides in electrifying transport rides, some fleets are still hesitant to go fully electric, and Harbinger understands that. "There are some fleets whose needs simply can't be met with a purely electric vehicle — and we recognize that," said John Harris, cofounder and CEO of Harbinger, per Electrek. To help assuage these fears, Harbinger created this extended-range electric vehicle hybrid truck to meet the needs of any fleet. Harbinger's new medium-duty, hybrid electric truck runs on a 140 or 175 kilowatt-hour Panasonic-supplied battery and is supplemented by a low-emissions, 1.4-liter four-cylinder gas engine that powers an 800-volt generator, which sends power to the battery when the engine is running. Essentially, the truck relies on the battery's maximum range on a full charge before the gas engine kicks in. The engine, whose sole purpose is to power the generator that recharges the vehicle's battery, does not mechanically control or drive the vehicle's wheels as in traditional gas-powered vehicles. According to Harbinger, this hybrid electric truck offers up to 500 miles in range. As of 2022, transportation still represents the largest source (28%) of the nation's heat-trapping gases, per the Environmental Protection Agency. Electrifying this sector could deliver measurable economic and environmental benefits. For one, electrifying transportation reduces the amount of routine maintenance for fleet operators, as electric vehicles have fewer moving parts than traditional diesel-powered fleets. If you were going to purchase an EV, which of these factors would be most important to you? Cost Battery range Power and speed The way it looks Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. While the truck still has a small combustion engine that uses gas, the engine only kicks in when the vehicle's battery has depleted, which saves on fuel costs and produces a minimal amount of carbon pollution compared to diesel-powered trucks. A battery-powered EV also idles much more quietly in traffic, reducing noise and air pollution on congested highways and roads. Best of all, EVs can be powered by clean, renewable energy sources like solar. EV owners can save significantly on charging costs by installing home solar, as opposed to refueling at public charging stations or pulling from the electric grid, especially during peak energy times. EnergySage helps homeowners find and compare quotes from locally vetted solar installers, saving homeowners up to $10,000 on new solar projects. "I wouldn't be too surprised if FedEx, UPS, and the Postal Service started buying this," one Electrek commenter wrote. "All in all, it looks like a smart product," another user said. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Wall Street Journal
03-07-2025
- Automotive
- Wall Street Journal
Electric-Vehicle Sales Fall in the Second Quarter
U.S. car buyers continue to sour on electric vehicles. Ford Motor, Hyundai and Kia on Tuesday all reported steep declines in EV sales for the second quarter, with Ford saying its fell more than 30% and Kia saying sales of two models dropped by half. The market has taken a hit as consumer interest cools and deep discounts dry up. Fully electric vehicles also have especially lost share to hybrid-electric vehicles, which are an easier leap for many consumers, said Tyson Jominy, J.D. Power's senior vice president of data and analytics.
Associated Press
02-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
VoltAero Signs Agreement with Malaysia's SEDC Energy and France's ACI Groupe for Cassio Aircraft Production and Equity Stake
KUALA LUMPUR, MY / ACCESS Newswire / July 2, 2025 / VoltAero, the French pioneer in electric-hybrid aviation and developer of the Cassio aircraft family, today signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with SEDC Energy (SEDCE) of Malaysia and France's ACI Groupe, marking a major step toward establishing a regional hybrid-electric aircraft assembly facility and innovation center in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. As part of this agreement, SEDCE and ACI Groupe have expressed their interest in acquiring an equity stake in VoltAero and becoming a strategic investor. The investment forms the foundation of a broader strategic partnership aimed at supporting clean aviation development across the Asia-Pacific region. The agreement outlines a shared vision to create a state-of-the-art assembly center in Sarawak for VoltAero's Cassio aircraft, which utilizes electric-hybrid propulsion for safe, quiet, efficient and eco-friendly regional transportation, as well as for pilot training. 'This partnership is a major milestone for VoltAero and for the global transition to air transportation with reduced emissions,' said Jean Botti, CEO and Chief Technical Officer of VoltAero. 'Establishing a regional hub in Malaysia allows us to expand our production capacity, deliver on regional demand, and transfer technology and skills to a key part of the world that is embracing sustainable aviation.' Tan Sri Datuk Amar (Dr) Haji Abdul Aziz bin Dato Haji Husain, the Chairman of SEDC Energy, explained that Sarawak is uniquely positioned to be a leader in sustainable technology and innovation. 'Through this collaboration with VoltAero, Malaysia will be at the forefront of next-generation aviation manufacturing and clean energy development,' stated Abdul Aziz. 'It supports the broader regional ambitions to position Malaysia as a green aviation hub, aligned with national goals for decarbonization, technology transfer and skilled workforce development.' Philippe Riviere, the ACI Groupe's President and CEO, added: 'We are proud to partner with VoltAero and SEDC Energy to bring electric-hybrid aviation to the Asia-Pacific region. This project reflects our shared belief in a clean, connected future for global air transport.' Key elements of the proposed collaboration include: Contact Information Marina Evans VoltAero [email protected] +33 (0)1 45 78 89 92 SOURCE: VoltAero press release
