No matter how you slice it, there just aren’t enough drivers to move all the freight (and autonomous just isn’t ready). In the US, the industry is chasing higher payloads to bridge the gap, but in Australia, they’re taking a different approach: massive, multi-trailer hybrid road trains.
Working with Australian mining firm MLG to help decarbonize their heavy haul operations while reducing exposure to volatile fuel costs, the trailer experts at Mick Murray Welding have launched 50/50 joint venture to develop and deploy a proprietary hybrid road train (“HRT”) that pairs a series of powered trailers with conventional diesel or battery electric semi trucks to enable safer, cleaner, and heavier hauling.
Mick Murray-built HRT trailers pack three heavy-duty electric drive axles and a 200 kWh buffer battery into the trailer’s heavy-duty frame rails. The batteries get charged by shore power or through the running diesel when running empty on their way to the mine and take advantage of the massively heavy mining loads and regenerative braking to keep SOC high on their way back from the mine.
The entire system is engineered specifically for MLG’s dense payloads, extreme duty cycles, and punishing off-road demands of Australia’s remote mining landcape.
“This joint venture is a defining moment in MLG’s product strategy,” explains Mark Hatfield, CEO of MLG. “We are investing alongside one of Australia’s most respected trailer manufacturers to build proprietary technology that aims to materially improve payload and emissions performance, two key drivers of efficiency and value within our haulage operations.”
In practice, the hybrid road train it could save MLG millions in fuel costs while reducing engine loads on the prime mover (read: semi truck), improving vehicle life and reducing downtime even as the trailers save MLG money on fuel.
The best part? The HRT is being initially deployed with a diesel vocational truck at the head of the train, but the only thing stopping that lead truck from being electric is the relative scarcity of battery-electric options on the market – and MLG is already talking about finding an electric solution there, as well.
Battery ready
The HRT is being developed in phases, beginning with the hybrid diesel prototype currently in build and progressing through to a fully battery-electric road train combination.
It’s not hard to imagine something like a PACCAR Kenworth T880E vocational truck at the front of something like this, or even a beefed-up versinon of the new Mercedes eArocs. Either way, the final product looks like a winner to me, and promises to greatly reduce heavy haul emissions from MLG – and anyone else who wants to buy one.
“For our clients,” continues Hatfield, “our vision is that the Hybrid Road Train could offer a direct pathway to reducing their Scope 1 emissions from heavy haulage, supporting the decarbonization commitments many have made to their own stakeholders. The technology also has the potential to reduce the number of assets required to perform haulage tasks on site, improving operational efficiency.”
The first HRT is already in operation at an MLG site in Australia, with plans to begin offering HRT trailers to other heavy haul companies later this year.
SOURCE | IMAGES: MLG.
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