semis
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Startup semi truck maker Nikola will work with the Department of Energy scientists to research improved fuel cells for its future trucks.
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West Coast charging corridor may expand to trucks
Even as installations of fast and public chargers for electric cars have taken off, they have not kept pace with the number of new electric cars automakers have sold. Now states and utilities are trying to get ahead of a potential similar problem for trucks. Following on an earlier model for the...
Eric C. Evarts -
Nikola releases semi-trucks Two and Tre, maps out hydrogen network
At an event Tuesday night, Nikola, the truck company that has been promising new hydrogen fuel-cell trucks to compete with Tesla, announced two new semi-trucks: a long-nosed, 10-wheel conventional for the U.S. and a smaller, six-wheeled cabover design for Europe. It called the U.S. model the Nikola...
Eric C. Evarts -
Toyota and Kenworth to build 10 fuel-cell semis for LA port duty
The word "drayage" isn't commonly used, even among green-car fans, but it's used by the shipping and logistics industries to refer to the transport of goods over short distances. Drayage turns out to be the sweet spot for early efforts to put zero-emission heavy trucks on the road, including a...
John Voelcker -
Toyota enters $82 million partnership to roll out hydrogen trucks in Los Angeles port
After showing its second-generation fuel-cell semi-truck at the Port of Los Angeles in July, Toyota announced last week it will build 10 more fuel-cell trucks for the project. In addition to the trucks, the project will add two new heavy-duty hydrogen filling stations, two new hydrogen forklifts at...
Eric C. Evarts -
Budweiser-maker taps Nikola for up to 800 hydrogen-powered semi trucks
Anheuser-Busch bet big on hydrogen fuel for its semitrailer trucks Thursday. The Budweiser beermaker announced it would buy up to 800 big rigs from Nikola Motor Company by 2025 and nearly replace its entire dedicated corporate fleet with trucks powered by renewable energy. The agreement is largely...
Aaron Cole -
Tesla's most direct competitor announced it would refund all deposits it has taken.
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Fake science: University disavows study EPA cited to approve old dirty diesels in "glider" trucks
Last November, the Environmental Protection Agency said it would rescind a rule that banned companies from fitting outdated, older, and dirtier diesel engines into brand-new "glider" chassis-cab trucks. Among the many regulations to limit emissions and other forms of pollution that EPA...
John Voelcker -
If electric semi tractors are real, their running-cost advantage could be huge
Emotions play a big role in purchases of passenger vehicles, but fleet decisions are generally driven by numbers, spreadsheets, and the almighty dollar. And it's in the equation of overall cost where early adopters of electric and other alternative-fuel semis could make a financial killing. Haulers...
Mark Stevenson -
How about electric semis that draw power from overhead wires?
While battery-powered semi trucks remains years away for many prominent makers, the German tech company Siemens is experimenting with a well-known source of electric power delivery to make a different kind of electric semi. Much like electric trams or streetcars used by public transit agencies for...
Sean Szymkowski -
Tesla Semi: 500-mile range, lower running costs than diesel... and it's fast
The long-awaited Tesla Semi electric truck was unveiled Thursday night and it promises to shake up the shipping industry by significantly reducing the cost of transporting goods from point-to-point. Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the Semi at a private event in California, where he touted a 500-mile...
Andrew Ganz -
Mercedes parent Daimler launches E-Fuso electric truck sub-brand
Daimler, parent company of Mercedes-Benz and Smart, also owns the Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation—which it used last week to preview major shifts coming to its Daimler Trucks business. It all took place at the reveal of E-Fuso, a new sub-brand of Daimler's Fuso operation that will...
Sean Szymkowski -
The EPA recently announced it will roll back the Clean Power Plan, one of former President Obama's milestone efforts to fight climate change, and now the agency plans to axe another rule limiting emissions. Next on the chopping block is a regulation that limits emissions from large trucks and their components. Remarkably, the regulation that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt plans to eliminate is supported by nearly all major truck makers. DON'T MISS: Coming this week: Trump EPA's plan to neuter Clean Power Plan The single stark voice of disapproval comes from makers of so-called gliders, the...
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Cummins buys Brammo electric-drivetrain group for future electric semi
Cummins has long been known for its diesel engines, but the company recently revealed its first concept truck using an all-electric powertrain. The Urban Hauler Tractor debuted last month and Cummins said it previewed a production model that could arrive by the end of this decade. Now, the...
Sean Szymkowski -
Toyota to study Mirai-derived fuel-cell tech for heavy-duty trucks
Toyota announced on Thursday that it will begin testing in two California ports a hydrogen fuel-cell heavy-duty truck adapted from the Toyota Mirai's powertrain for drayage use. Initially, Toyota is looking at how it can use hydrogen fuel-cell-powered vehicles to significantly reduce vehicle...
Andrew Ganz -
CA legislators propose $1 billion to remove dirtiest diesel trucks
The state of California has officially launched its legislative push for stricter heavy-duty truck and bus emission regulations. Following calls for the state to use its recently-extended carbon cap-and-trade program to fund updates to fleets of semi trucks and other commercial vehicles, four state...
Sean Szymkowski -
Cummins electric semi truck: traditional maker takes on Tesla
The well-established Cummins company chose an appropriate time to reveal its all-electric semi tractor concept: just before Tesla prepares to reveal its own electric semi next month. The traditional diesel-engine maker debuted its Urban Hauler Tractor, a Class 7 semi truck with a 44,000-pound...
Sean Szymkowski -
Autonomous electric truck prototype can be controlled remotely
Swedish company Einride has officially unveiled the first full-scale prototype of its futuristic autonomous electric truck. First announced back in April, the T-pod is touted as being more than a simple self-driving electric truck—it’s pitched as an entirely “new transportation...
VentureBeat's GreenBeat -
Tesla's first foray into the commercial vehicle sector—an all-electric semi truck—is expected to debut next month, but specifics surrounding the electric-car maker's latest project have been few and far between. An exclusive report may have revealed Tesla's range figure as it prepares to tackle a segment dominated by diesel-powered vehicles. While unconfirmed, the latest news suggests Tesla's electric semi truck will arrive with a 200- to 300-mile range. DON'T MISS: Elon Musk teased Tesla's electric semi truck at a TED talk Initially, the range falls well below what diesel-powered...
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Tesla semi truck to test self-driving, capable of 'platooning': report
With Tesla, there's always something new coming up to keep owners, buyers, and fans excited. The company's main task over the next year is to get its lower-priced Model 3 electric car into volume assembly at high quality, a process CEO Elon Musk has called "production hell." But there's more to...
John Voelcker -
Diesel trucks with latest emission controls displacing dirtier, older ones on U.S. roads
The phrase "clean diesel" has largely fallen into ill repute after it was associated with Volkswagen's diesel emission deceit, but the latest diesel technology can honestly be described with such a phrase. Semi trucks using the latest-generation diesel technology have reached a new...
Sean Szymkowski -
Missing piece in global vehicle emission puzzle: heavy trucks
A global push to reduce vehicle emissions and create cleaner air for future generations has been underway for half a century now. However, while many governments around the world have introduced lower emission and higher fuel-efficiency standards for passenger cars, another large contributor to...
Sean Szymkowski -
Elon Musk teased Tesla's electric semi truck at a TED talk
It's no secret Tesla CEO Elon Musk is an ambitious man, but he continues to fuel the hype surrounding the company by recently teasing the first Tesla semi truck. In typical Tesla fashion, the semi truck will be all electric. Its goal is to showcase the possibilities of electric range over diesel...
Sean Szymkowski -
Toyota 'Project Portal' hydrogen fuel-cell heavy-duty semi tractor as proof of concept
The challenges of building fueling infrastructure for passenger cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells are well known by now. Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai now lease low volumes of fuel-cell vehicles in selected areas of California where a few dozen hydrogen fueling stations are now up and running. The...
John Voelcker