Daimler Truck North America integrates Freightliner eM2 with Hexagon Purus
Earlier this year, Daimler Truck North America unveiled the vocational Freightliner eM2 prototype truck. Vocational upfit options have been developed as part of an innovation project with selected Truck Equipment Manufacturers Alamo and Altec. This has enabled the development of upfit solutions for vocational customers, particularly in the utility, sweeper, dump, construction, towing, and refuse segments.
The integration will incorporate Hexagon Purus’ proprietary zero-emission technology, which includes battery systems, auxiliary modules, power modules, and vehicle-level software. The truck makers’ offer will include power-take-off (PTO) options to supply power to the vocational body and the equipment. Daimler Truck North America says that Hexagon Purus’ high-voltage battery technology is known for its efficient kWh per meter of frame length, which aligns with the packaging needs of medium-duty vocational applications.
“We are excited about our collaboration with Hexagon Purus and the potential it holds for the future of electric vocational trucks,” said Aaron Scates, vice president of vocational and medium-duty market development at DTNA. “With our shared history, combined experience, and the remarkable battery technology offered by Hexagon Purus, we look forward to yielding effective and flexible solutions for our vocational customers.”
According to Daimler Truck North America, the new partnership with Hexagon, building on years of existing collaboration, will enable the two companies to provide the vocational vehicle sector in the USA with products that complement DTNA’s eCascadia and eM2 battery electric portfolio already in production. After the heavy-duty truck eCascadia, the eM2 is the second battery-electric model of Daimler’s truck brand Freightliner and is scheduled to go into series production at the Portland plant in autumn 2023.
Hexagon Purus is also a provider of fuel cell cylinders and gas tank gas tanks for trucks. Most recently, Hexagon joined a joint research project in Germany called HyMon, aiming to develop an intelligent system for permanent condition monitoring of hydrogen tanks, which should significantly increase the safety of H2 pressure tanks. The truck component supplier recently opened an H2 cylinder factory in Germany.
In the US, Hexagon announced in 2021 that it would supply H2 fuel cell trucks to US markets. In September this year, Hexagon Purus, specialising in hydrogen infrastructure solutions, will open a new vehicle integration facility in Dallas, Texas. The Norwegian company says the factory significantly increases its vehicle integration capacity and will enable delivery on the recently won vehicle integration contracts with Hino Motors and the undisclosed major North American OEM. The new facility is more than 200,000 square feet and, with its centralized location in the US, enables the production and distribution to customers of Hexagon Purus’ complete battery-electric heavy-duty trucks for the US market.
Todd Sloan, EVP of Hexagon Purus. “The new facility is also located in proximity to key suppliers, making it an ideal location for our vehicle integration operations”. Whether this capacity will be leveraged by Daimler Truck North America was not clear from the two company’s most recent announcements.
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