Range and cost are the two stumbling blocks for electric van buyers. Less talked about is weight, or more specifically payload. Electrical components like batteries impact on the carrying capacity of an LCV. With most vans operating at 3.5 tonnes, that makes increasing range through additional batteries a complex equation.
‘Customers were asking us for a larger electric vehicle with a refrigerated body,’ said Chris Berridge, managing director of conversion specialist Paneltex.
‘We couldn’t find a base vehicle that would work for us, so we chose to build our own with an Isuzu chassis, as it has a very robust final drive and the truck is relatively light weight.’
Paneltex developed the Zeroed electric trucks with gross weights of 5.5, 6.5, 7.5 and 11 tonnes, the most popular 6.5-tonne and 7.5-tonne models offering payloads of 1,900kg and 2,750kg respectively.
‘We felt that 3.5 tonnes just wasn’t going to give enough payload with a multi-temperature body,’ said Mr Berridge.
Paneltex installed a 150kW permanent magnet electric motor with a fixed ratio gearbox. The motor offers a 100kW output, though a boost button provides 30 seconds at 120kW.
The trucks use a Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFEpO4) battery pack, mounted below the floor. Zeroed comes with an on-board 9kW charger, capable of recharging in seven hours, using a three-phase 32A commercial supply. Customers can also opt for a 50kW fast charger, that will top-up the batteries in 1.5 hours.
The range of 90-100 miles of operation should be enough for local delivery vehicles. The traction batteries also provide power for a GAH fridge unit, that delivers multi-temperature control in the insulated Paneltex body.
The company retains the standard truck’s 24V batteries to power lights, wipers and other electrical systems. For the 11-tonner there is also an air compressor running from the battery pack, to provide power for the braking system.
The truck uses an electro-hydraulic pump for the power steering and a vacuum pump for the brakes on smaller models. Paneltex has also opted for an electric water heater, to provide heating to the cab.
Zeroed technology carries a premium, costing around three times as much as the diesel Isuzu.
‘We expect the batteries to last seven to eight years and the operator will see their money back after five, so at seven years you can demonstrate a saving,’ said Mr Berridge.
Ocado has two Zeroed trucks working within London and Warburtons also runs the Paneltex vehicle. Kuehne+Nagel is testing a Zeroed truck for Whitbread. The
company has built 15 Zeroed models, for customers and as demonstrators.
However, Isuzu is changing its braking technology to incorporate ESP systems and Paneltex is unable to access the new models until April this year.
‘We need an ESP vehicle to convert for our own Type Approval,’ said Mr Berridge. ‘It is still a work in progress for us, but we are expecting to have a new range of vehicles available by the summer or autumn 2015.’
What we think
Zeroed feels like an OEM truck rather than a conversion, providing an easy driving experience and a fully integrated high capacity, zero-emission, temperature-controlled delivery option.
Specification
MODEL Paneltex Zeroed 6.5-tonne
BASIC PRICE See text
ENGINE Permanent magnet electric motor
FUEL INJECTION na
POWER 150kW
TORQUE 2,380Nm
Weights (kg)
GVW 6,500
KERB WEIGHT 4,600
PAYLOAD 1,900
Dimensions (mm)
BODY LENGTH 4,267–6,096
BODY WIDTH 2,286
BODY HEIGHT 1,240
Cost considerations
BATTERY RANGE 90–120 miles
COMBINED MPG & CO2 na/0g/km
SERVICE INTERVALS 1 yr/12-weekly inspection