Monday, February 8, 2010

Balqon for the heavy EV lifting


I drove through a rare LA rain storm down to Torrance, CA to meet up with fellow Plug In America board members, Mike Kane and Linda Nicholes for a tour of the Balqon facility. Long time readers of this blog will remember our big EV inaugural parade of last January when 78 highway capable Electric Vehicles were paraded down Main St. in Santa Monica to celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama. While the Teslas were the glittering stars of the parade, the EV that got the most attention was the Balqon tractor which was capable of hauling a full 60,000 lbs. The Teslas put to rest any talk of EVs being slow, and this big boy silenced any talk of EVs not having towing power.

Full disclosure, I own stock in Balqon.

We spent a couple of hours talking with B. Samra, Balqon's CEO, who as it turns out, has quite a long history in the EV business. Way back in 1992, Samra worked on a deal to bring 3,000 electric trucks to Mexico City where they were used to great effect as delivery vehicles in that dense and polluted city. At least for a while, some of that pollution was displaced by his trucks.

Fast forward to the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach where some of the worst pollution in the U.S. is generated by the thousands of diesel burning rigs that are used for moving the containers offloaded from the ships to be stacked in preparation for distribution throughout the country.

According to Samra, some 16,000 trucks are used to shuttle these containers from the ship to a stack inside the port. Samra told us these trucks are turned on each morning and left running all day long, even during lunch breaks. Since the trucks never leave the port, they only drive an average of 4 miles a day, yet because they are not turned off, they burn an astounding 27 gallons of diesel fuel! The people at the port who are responsible for this atrocity should be fired, but given the union control over employment there, that's not likely to happen.

What should happen is that each and every one of those trucks should be replaced with a vehicle capable of doing the same job but with 100% renewable electricity. Balqon has sold 25 of their trucks to the ports so far, a good start. Considering how many ports there are around the world, the market for this type of vehicle is enormous.

Yard tractors in ports are not the only market. Samra has identified several other applications for heavy duty electric trucks. Balqon has wisely partnered with Autocar, one of the worlds leading truck manufacturers. Combining Balqon electric drivetrains with Autocar trucks, Samra sees opportunities in refuse hauling, street sweepers, airplane de-icing trucks and anything with a low speed duty cycle and 90% off-freeway route. The savings in pollution, energy and money are just what our country needs.

To the left is one example of Balqon's electric drivetrain with the batteries in the green cases and 240 kW motor underneath. It fits into the space we see in the tractor at right.



In case you were wondering how these 140 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LiFePo) packs get their charge, it's courtesy of Aerovironment's 80 kW Posicharger.

16 comments:

  1. Your Quote.....
    "The people at the port who are responsible for this atrocity should be fired, but given the union control over employment there, that's not likely to happen."
    My Reponse.....
    More than likely the people in charge of making these decisions are not part of "Union" they are part of the "Management" and yes they should be fired!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Paul, the math on this is staggering ---- 16,000 trucks, each consuming 27 gallons of diesel per day, equals 432,000 gallons. What a waste of money. What a load of pollution being generated down at the ports. And the powers that be want to cut pollution by plugging in the ships while they are docked. Geeez.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fascinating post -- had no idea that there were heavy-duty EV loaders/rigs. Would be great if they'd replace the filthy diesel ones. But sometimes I truly wonder if most people even care about air pollution. Finally, the days of long-distance EV-18-wheelers are way off, or am I also in the dark on that one too?

    ReplyDelete
  4. The true effect will not be felt on the quality of air unless we create the electricity for those electro trucks from wind or solar. This in no way means we should not invest in this idea until then. Getting off the MidEast oil merry go round is just another benefit, as well as creating more high paying jobs here at home.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Regardless of man's age, hermes belt mens watches present both classically refined and vintage inspired. Despite searching opulent, michael kors outlet.net stretch and play with their color hues from black pave crystals adorning round bezel to white ceramic bezel embellish with numeric engraving.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What will you choose when faced with the dynamic duo between black hermes belt and white? Elegant black and white watches come in new innovative ceramic, silicone, acrylic or plastic casing and bracelet. Gold and crystal accents lands the final touches on these watches. The Michael Kors Baguette and Glitz watches michael kors outlet have crystal embellishments surrounding the bezel and dial. The Michael Kors ceramic watches have a smooth glossy surface which is highly scratch resistant. The ceramic watches are very popular for its beauty and durableness. Choose between alluring white and sleek black Michael Kors ladies watches.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Truly speaking, this is the era of Michael Kors handbags hermes belt where thousands of people are buying them so as to fulfill their modern contemporary needs and desires in style. They are very traditional, symbolic and versatile handbags. Most importantly, your own Michael Kors handbags are manufactured by a highly unique, affordable and durable stock. Due to a high class manufacturing, your own Michael Kors handbags would therefore look very captivating handbags. Currently they are available in many professional handbags shops online from where you could easily buy your own Michael Kors handbags online michael kors outlet. They are very heavy duty handbags in which you could effortlessly put aside a lot of accessories such as attires, scarves, cosmetics, beauty products, belts, notebooks, sunglasses, and many others. That is why online Michael Kors handbags industry makes you available discounted Michael Kors handbags.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I actually enjoyed reading through this posting.Many thanks.








    Sending Gifts to Chennai

    ReplyDelete
  9. Interested in shopping for a designer breitling watches from a ray ban sunglasses locations?
    These typical merchants of the corporation stock goods which are surplus,
    and all those products which could suffer small defects because of to shipment or at the time of production.
    ray ban glasses that breitling watches typically obtain goods in bulk,
    they get these products at comparatively lower price ranges and also offer prospects enticing reductions on designer goods like purses and rolex watches for sale.

    ReplyDelete
  10. If you look closely will find the words hidden in the shoes of "23", two large patterns in the upper side support, three the soles lateral bottom

    ReplyDelete
  11. Flowers present the feeling of yours to your dear which is special in your life and makes the life joyful. Then now Ehadeya provides online flower delivery in Jordan at an affordable price.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Toto sites that specialize in Toto Sports are therefore mostly old private Toto sites. The first generation of Totosites has always focused on safety toys that focused on sports betting. 토토사이트 토토 안전놀이터

    ReplyDelete