All-electric drivetrain on Purolator Quicksider demonstrates how alternative powertrains contribute to greater productivity

It’s all well and good to promote a “green” corporate image, but ultimately companies expect alternative-powered vehicles to deliver a return on the investment. What good is a smaller carbon footprint when it can so easily be washed away by a rising tide of acquisition and operating costs?

“Conserving fuel and reducing greenhouse gas emissions are important to us, and we’ve changed our fleet operating practices to reflect that,” says Serge Viola, national fleet manager at Purolator Courier, Canada’s largest overnight delivery company. “At the end of the day, though, you’re paying for these vehicles with real money. You need to justify that cost.”

Simply put, says Viola, alternative-powered vehicles need to boost productivity and reduce operating costs.

That’s a tall order for hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs). “Our HEVs are 37 percent to 40 percent more fuel efficient, but they use the same body type as our gas-powered vans,” Viola says. “They do nothing to improve ergonomics, maintenance, or cargo capacity.”

So Purolator took a clean-sheet approach to package-van design. The company partnered with Unicell, a Toronto-based designer of truck bodies, and ArvinMeritor, a leading supplier of drivetrain components for commercial vehicles, to produce a lightweight electric vehicle called the Quicksider. It entered field-trials in Toronto last fall.

Designed for urban routes with 80 to 150 discrete stops, the battery-powered vehicle has a range of roughly 65 km (40 miles) on a single charge. Purolator envisions using the Quicksider in low-mileage, high-density service, and HEVs in extended routes.

Despite a higher acquisition price (production vehicles are expected to cost twice that of standard gas-powered vans), the company projects a two- to three-year payback through greater productivity. The key is the Quicksider’s electric powertrain: the motors, regenerative braking system, battery pack, and electronic controls.

Individual drive corner modules deliver power to each rear wheel. Each module includes a traditional wheel-end package with disc brakes; an electric motor that drives the wheel and provides regenerative braking; and an electronically controlled pneumatic suspension.

“Because the motors are at each wheel, there is no driveline, transmission, or rear-axle differential,” says Dennis Kramer, hybrid program manager for ArvinMeritor. This gives the Quicksider performance advantages that a conventional step van or delivery vehicle does not have:

• The floor has been lowered from 31 in. to only 14 in. off the ground. This improves ergonomics by eliminating roughly 200 steps a day for the driver. It also allows for a more aerodynamic body design.

• The pneumatic suspensions have 9 in. of travel so the vehicle can “kneel” to curb level. This reduces the physical demands on the driver because he can roll dollies, mail carts, and skids in and out of the cargo area without steep ramps or steps.

• The floor is flat throughout the vehicle — no humps above the axles. The driver can wheel packages through the front or rear doors, whichever is more convenient.

• The lack of an engine, differential, or transmission combined with regenerative braking is expected to reduce maintenance costs by at least 33 percent. Electric vehicles have no belt-driven or gear-driven accessories to replace or maintain, and no engine that requires oil changes, filters, fuel injectors, and so on.

• The Quicksider is a zero-emission vehicle while in operation. It produces none of the noise, smell, or exhaust associated with urban delivery vehicles. The emissions related to charging its battery are expected to be less than 20 percent of those produced by a conventional gasoline-powered curbside delivery vehicle.

The electric motors deliver a combined 187 HP (140 kW) and a top speed of 110 km./h. (65 MPH) using power from sodium-nickel-chloride batteries. A next-generation lithium-ion polymer battery system promises an extended driving range, longer lifecycle, and more compact physical profile.

While the Quicksider’s energy cost per mile should improve with future battery designs, the current cost associated with leasing and charging the batteries offers no advantage over gasoline or diesel fuel. “You still have to pay for the battery and for the electricity to charge it at night,” Viola says.

ArvinMeritor’s Dennis Kramer predicts that regulations and high fuel prices will contribute to the transition from fuel to electrical storage. “However, market acceptance of electric vehicles will depend on their ability to produce operational efficiencies,” he explains.

Unicell chairman Roger Martin says that by changing the basic architecture of the truck, the front bulkhead can be moved forward to increase the cargo area without changing the overall length of vehicle. “A less-intrusive battery system and modifications to the next-generation body should provide 10 percent greater cargo volume compared to Purolator’s existing vans,” Martin says. “That’s our goal.” He says the company is working closely with ArvinMeritor and Purolator engineers “to use every opportunity to create capacity inside the truck and make a better work environment for the drivers.”

Drivers who breathe cleaner air, work in a quieter vehicle, and walk fewer steps in a day tend to be more productive and happier on the job, Kramer adds. And by eliminating high-maintenance components, Purolator can service more vehicles with the same number of technicians and maintenance bays and significantly reduce parts inventories.

“Further returns will come from improvements in hybrid vehicle technology: high-voltage, high-output motors; improved battery chemis-tries and solid-state controls,” Kramer says. “After years of focusing on what is feasible, we’re now looking at what is affordable.”