BAE Systems and Crane Carrier Company partner on heavy-duty parallel hybrid-electric propulsion systems for refuse trucks

BAE Systems has entered into an agreement with Crane Carrier Company, a US market leader in the refuse collection vehicle (RCV) industry, to integrate a heavy-duty hybrid electric propulsion system into one of its vehicles. The new alliance will perform field trials this year with a plan for Crane Carrier Company to offer HybriDrive powered vehicles to the market by the end of 2012.

This alliance will introduce the use of the HybriDrive parallel system into the North American RCV market and is part of BAE Systems’ broader strategic initiative to address a range of heavy-duty truck vocations that also will include construction, pick-up and delivery, and utility.

The HybriDrive parallel system is based on a single electric machine integrated between the engine and the transmission. The system can be installed with minimal impact to the vehicle, and enhances propulsion through an optimized blending of internal combustion engine power and electric power.

The HybriDrive parallel systems’ power and torque ratings range from 95 - 145 hp (71 - 108 kW) and 300 - 400 lb-ft (407 - 542 N·m). The system is designed to support large-bore heavy-duty power plants ranging from 350 hp to 600 hp (261 to 447 kW), with associated torque ratings of 750 to 2,150 lb-ft (1,017 to 2,915 N·m).

The new parallel system—the latest member of BAE Systems HybriDrive family—complements and draws upon the company’s HybriDrive series hybrid system, currently deployed in more than 3,500 transit buses across North America and Europe.

BAE Systems has formed similar relationships with leading original equipment manufacturers in the transit bus market for its HybriDrive series product in Europe and North America.

BAE Systems has produced hybrid propulsion systems for city transit buses since 1998. Buses equipped with BAE Systems’ HybriDrive series system have travelled more than 300 million miles and transport more than two million passengers a day in cities across the UK and North America that include London, Manchester, Oxford, New York, San Francisco, Toronto, Ottawa, Houston, and Seattle.

Source: Green Car Congress

BAE Systems Developing Parallel Hybrid Propulsion System for Medium and Heavy Duty Trucks

BAE Systems, producer of the market-leading HybriDrive series hybrid system for transit buses, is developing a parallel hybrid propulsion system designed for medium- and heavy-duty truck applications. The parallel system is the latest version of the company’s HybriDrive system.

The HybriDrive series propulsion system—currently in service on more than 3,000 transit buses in cities around the world and with more than 200 million miles of revenue service—meets the demands of urban transit duty cycles, which require low average speeds and frequent stop-and-go operation. The HybriDrive parallel system is designed to address the needs of vehicles with duty cycles that require higher operating speeds and less frequent stops.

The development of a parallel system is part of our strategy to broaden our HybriDrive product family to meet the growing worldwide need for more efficient transport and energy management. Our HybriDrive parallel system is the perfect hybrid electric solution for vehicles that operate in diverse duty cycles beyond standard urban operational modes.

—Steve Trichka, vice president of power and energy management for BAE Systems

HybriDrive series and parallel technologies both use simplified and proven components and controls to deliver their capabilities. While the series system does not use a transmission, the HybriDrive parallel system is based on a single electric machine integrated between the engine and the transmission. The system can be installed with minimal impact to the vehicle, and enhances propulsion through an optimized blending of internal combustion engine power and electric power.

The system’s energy management and control capabilities ensure all energy flow—such as propulsion and regeneration—occurs in the most efficient fashion, resulting in lower fuel consumption and reduced emissions.

The HybriDrive parallel system, in final stages of development, will see its first road trials next spring and is expected to be deployed in markets around the world in 2012.

BAE Systems’ HybriDrive series system has transported more than a billion passengers in cities across North America and in the United Kingdom including New York, San Francisco, Toronto, Ottawa, Houston, Seattle, London, and Oxford, UK, and powers vehicles by the world’s leading bus manufacturers, including Daimler and New Flyer in the United States and Alexander Dennis and Irisbus Iveco in Europe.

Source: Green Car Congress