Hyliion presents electric truck with natural gas range extender

The US company Hyliion, which specializes in electrified drives for heavy-duty commercial vehicles, has presented its Hypertruck Electric Range Extender (ERX). This is an electric drive combined with a natural gas-powered generator to charge the battery.

The Hypertruck ERX is a class 8 truck, i.e. with a weight of more than 14.969 tons. The “long-haul, fully electric powertrain delivering superior performance” is to be designed for a range of more than 1,000 miles, (1,609 kilometres). While the Hypertruck ERX is powered exclusively by electric motors, the truck is by no means purely electric for the 1,000 miles, as the range extender relies on natural gas.

Hyliion states that the electric range is to be 40 kilometres with one battery charge. This should enable the Hypertruck ERX to drive to targets in zero-emission zones purely electrically. Calculated over seven years, Hyliion expects the operating costs to be lower than those of diesel, BEV or FCEV trucks in this segment.

Hyliion has not yet made any statements regarding the exact technical data of the drive. The electric motor, the converters and the axles are said to be components from Dana. The supplier is also working with other truck manufacturers to establish electric drives in commercial vehicles. Hyliion now plans to provide Dana with “its state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities to support Hyliion in mass production of its powertrain systems. The first demo vehicles will be delivered to customers next year, with Hyliion aiming for higher volumes in 2022.

“Our practical solution addresses the most important needs of today’s fleets: cost savings, lower emissions and a fueling infrastructure that can support long-haul transportation,” said Thomas Healy, CEO and founder of Hyliion. “We’re already seeing robust interest in the Hypertruck ERX from fleets like Agility who are looking for electric solutions that can be seamlessly integrated.”

Logistics company Agility has already confirmed a pre-order of up to 1,000 trucks with this drive. Agility is also investing in the drive specialist, which is planning to go public through a merger with Tortoise Acquisition. The merged company is expected to have a market capitalisation of 1.5 billion dollars (1.33 billion euros) and will be traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the marker ‘HYLN’.

“It’s a triple win: Protect the environment, keep customers happy and benefit shareholders by improving the bottom line,” says Tarek Sultan, CEO of Agility. “We look forward to bringing significant cost savings and greater efficiency to our customers.”

truckinginfo.com, businesswire.com, agility.com, hyliion.com (fusion/stock market)