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Hydraulic Hybrid Truck
Hydraulic hybrid truck promises fuel efficiency and lower emissions
Think you've heard about all the new alternative vehicles
on the road today? Not so fast! EPA and UPS recently unveiled the
world's first hydraulic hybrid commercial delivery vehicle. Reporters
and officials went for spins in the truck at demonstrations in Dallas
and Houston. This new EPA-patented technology can increase fuel efficiency
by sixty to seventy percent, while lowering carbon dioxide emissions
by forty percent in urban driving. The hybrid UPS truck, developed
at our Ann Arbor Research facility, will begin delivering UPS packages
in Michigan this summer.
EPA and UPS 
partnered
in the development of the truck, with the new technology poised to
deliver these impressive environmental benefits to America in package
delivery, shuttle and transit, and refuse pickup fleets. Payback is
estimated at fewer than three years, with net fuel cost savings per
vehicle at more than fifty thousand dollars over its lifespan at current
fuel prices.
The truck has a full hydraulic hybrid system that replaces the conventional drive train and eliminates the need for a conventional transmission. Hydraulic motors and tanks store the energy that the system generates when the brakes are applied. That energy is then used automatically to help the vehicle accelerate, reducing both fuel consumption and emissions.
EPA partners on this project included Eaton Corporation, UPS, International Truck and Engine Corporation, the U.S. Army-National Automotive Center, and Morgan-Olson, with major technical support from FEV Engine Technology and Southwest Research institute.
For more information:
Recent developments with urban delivery vehicles.
Hydraulic Hybrid Factsheet in PDF (238KB)
Hydraulic Hybrids Flyer in PDF (1.79MB)
Hydraulic Hybrid Technology in PDF (169KB)