Interim Electric Drayage Demonstration Report … Electric Drayage Demonstration Report . Update –...

Interim Electric Drayage Demonstration Report

Update – June 2016

Transportation Power, Inc. 13000 Danielson Street,

Suites A-D Poway, CA 92064

[email protected]

1 Interim Electric Drayage Demonstration Report - Update

June 24, 2016

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2015 and the first half of 2016 was a period of dramatic achievements for the Electric Drayage Demonstration (EDD) project. By the end of 2015, the project goal of manufacturing seven prototype battery-electric trucks had been met. The first four of these trucks were completed between April 2014 and mid-2015, and all have been used in regular drayage service (transporting cargo containers) since their introduction. Pictured at the right in Figure 1 is the fourth of these trucks, “EDD-4,” which is presently moving containers for National Retail Trucking (NRT). The truck is shown recharging its batteries at NRT’s Compton truck yard in August 2015.

The last three trucks in the series were completed near the end of 2015 and will eventually begin regular drayage service with three new fleet operators, most likely during the summer of 2016. It was originally expected that these three trucks would be in commercial service in early 2016, but several new technologies incorporated into these three trucks have taken longer to perfect than anticipated. While all seven EDD trucks use the same basic TransPower-designed electric drive system, the design of this system was continuously improved as the four trucks were built and tested. As a result, the last three trucks have features not included in the earlier trucks, designed to reduce cost, reduce weight, and improve performance. The first four trucks are the first pure battery-electric Class 8 trucks known to have been operated reliably, for a sustained period, in regular service, hauling loads of up to 80,000 pounds. As of late June, 2016, the seven EDD trucks accumulated more than 25,000 miles of combined testing and use on battery power, a number that is expected to increase several-fold with the pending introduction of three additional EDD trucks. During 2015, TransPower also completed manufacturing of two additional electric Class 8 trucks with special design features that enable them to be operated on overhead “catenary” power lines. These two trucks were successfully demonstrated in Compton in December 2015, near the site of a 1-mile overhead power line that is being built to validate this new technology. TransPower also demonstrated that its core electric vehicle (EV) components work superbly in Class 8 yard tractors. One such tractor, operated by IKEA at its main California distribution center, has accumulated more than 23,000 miles of use since its entry into service in September 2014. Thus, the EDD project has

Figure 1. Fourth EDD truck, EDD-4, charging at NRT yard.


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been successful in developing and validating a core EV technology with tremendous promise for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and toxic pollutants from goods movement activities in California and around the world.

TransPower wishes to acknowledge the support of the numerous agencies that have provided funding to support the EDD project since its inception in August 2012. These include the California Energy Commission, which funded the initial EDD grant to kick off the manufacturing of the first five EDD trucks, and the U.S. Department of Energy, which provided funding to expand the demonstration from five trucks to seven trucks in 2013. Support has also been provided by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Port of Los Angeles, and Port of Long Beach. Total project expenditures through mid-2016 totaled approximately $4.2 million, including cost-sharing from TransPower. In addition, the California Air Resources Board has provided funding to support development of core TransPower technologies that have helped achieve the unprecedented successes of the EDD and related demonstration projects.

Figure 2. First EDD truck, EDD-1, during 2014 demonstrations.

Submitted to the Port of Los Angeles in fulfillment of the reporting requirements for:

Contract No. 13-3139, Transportation Power, Inc. Electric Drayage Pre-Commercial Demonstration

• Payment Milestone #6, Provide a copy of Updated Interim Electric Drayage Demonstration Report and a copy of draft final report for Electric Drayage Pre-Commercial Demonstration (EDPCD) following first year of drayage service demonstration.

Dr. James Burns, Principal Investigator Date covered by report: December 19, 2014 through June 24, 2016


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CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................... 1

CONTENTS ........................................................................... 3

KEY ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES .................................. 4

RESULTS OF EDD OPERATIONS TO DATE .............. 11

PROJECT LESSONS LEARNED TO DATE ................. 17


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KEY ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES

The EDD trucks rely on several key enabling technologies, which address the specific challenges relating to movement of very heavy vehicles with battery-electric power. The EDD project has enabled these technologies to be developed and refined over an extended period, allowing TransPower to adapt to lessons learned from earlier trucks and improve each new truck based on these lessons. During the course of the EDD project, TransPower learned that the best way to organize manufacturing of electric trucks and to systematically improve the system’s technologies was to break the system down into major elements, which TransPower refers to as “subsystems.” This facilitates the isolation and resolution of problems and also helps organize the process of converting vehicles to operate on battery-electric power. The end objective of the EDD project is for TransPower to ramp up manufacturing of its “ElecTruck™” subsystems and deliver them to established manufacturers of trucks, tractors, school buses, and other heavy vehicles that can benefit from electric drive. Packaged intelligently, these subsystems can be installed by established vehicle manufacturers on their own assembly lines, just as these manufacturers have been installing engines, transmissions, and other powertrain components into their vehicles for decades.

TransPower’s core propulsion component, designed after a series of engineering analyses and trade studies in 2010-11 and refined over the course of several early prototype vehicles, utilizes compact permanent magnet motors that were originally developed a decade ago for the Fisker Karma hybrid sedan. In a departure from the practices of most EV manufacturers, TransPower elected not to employ a “direct drive” propulsion concept, in which a large engine directly drives the vehicle’s axles, or an automatic transmission. Instead, TransPower selected an innovative “automated manual transmission” (AMT) concept, in which a manual transmission is mated to the electric drive motor and shifted using proprietary software. The configuration chosen for the EDD trucks consists of two of the Fisker motors mated to an

Figure 3. Main propulsion system installed into EDD-1.


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Eaton 10-speed manual transmission, and is depicted as installed into the first EDD truck, EDD-1, in Figure 3.

The AMT propulsion concept has not only been shown to offer significant efficiency and performance advantages over direct drive and automatic transmission configurations, but the components TransPower selected for its main propulsion system have been shown to be highly reliable and robust. As of mid-2016, more than 65,000 miles were accumulated on vehicles using TransPower’s Fisker-Eaton propulsion concept, without any failures of these key components. This has enabled TransPower to focus its product improvement efforts on other key subsystems such as the battery energy storage subsystem and the vehicle control subsystem. The following paragraphs summarize the experience gained and lessons learned as TransPower progressed through the manufacturing and testing of the seven EDD trucks, focusing on the key enabling technologies that have enabled new achievements in the area of zero-emission goods movement.

EDD-1

EDD-1 was the first truck in the EDD series to be built by TransPower, and has served primarily as a learning vehicle. The truck was completed in April 2014, emulating to a large extent the design of a predecessor “Pilot Truck” that was funded separately by the California Energy Commission and South Coast Air Quality Management District on a previous project. The earlier Pilot Truck was the first vehicle to use the Fisker-Eaton AMT propulsion combination described above, and its positive performance in the Pilot Truck reinforced the decision to stick with these propulsion concepts in the EDD trucks. However, based on experience gained during manufacturing and operation of the Pilot Truck in 2012-13, TransPower made a significant design change in EDD-1, removing all batteries from the engine compartment and using the engine compartment space instead to house all control components in an integrated “Power Control and Accessory Subsystem” (PCAS) assembly. Figure 4 shows the PCAS assembly shortly after its installation into EDD-1. The large white box visible under the Figure 4. PCAS installed into EDD-1.


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windshield is the inverter-charger unit (ICU), the largest component of the PCAS.

The main benefit of the PCAS assembly innovation was that it allowed much of the complex controls system assembly and wiring work to be completed before anything is installed onto the vehicle. The ICU and many other components are integrated into a separate structure outside the vehicle, making it easier to install and check out all of these components than if technicians had to reach into the engine compartment to perform all these tasks. The entire PCAS assembly is then hoisted into the engine compartment as a single unit, and is fastened in place much the same way diesel engines are installed into trucks. As discussed later in this report, the PCAS approach has helped TransPower significantly reduce the amount of labor required to convert a truck to electric drive.

EDD-1 was shown to be capable of hauling heavy loads, meeting the requirements of Class 8 drayage trucks, and accumulated more than 3,000 miles of use during 2014. The truck is shown in Figure 5 hauling a heavy load of steel at SA Recycling near the Port of Los Angeles in mid-2014. However, the truck was temporarily removed from service in late 2014 due to recurring problems with its energy storage subsystem (ESS). The 700-ampere hour batteries purchased for this truck were shown to have very inconsistent amounts of charge capacity, making it difficult to keep them in balance, and the battery management system (BMS) sensing boards purchased for EDD-1 were shown to be very unreliable. These problems were exacerbated by the fact that EDD-1, like the earlier Pilot Truck, utilized an ESS design where batteries were installed in a large number of small modules – some located in areas very difficult to access, such as underneath the cab. This made it difficult and expensive to replace batteries and BMS boards. Rather than expend project resources to keep EDD-1 operating by fixing frequent battery subsystem problems, TransPower elected to take EDD-1 out of service temporarily and focus its efforts on improving the design of subsequent EDD trucks so these problems could be prevented. During the second half of 2014, TransPower embarked on a major engineering effort to completely redesign the energy storage subsystems used on its electric trucks. A different battery was selected, the means on integrating

Figure 5. EDD-1 hauling a heavy load of steel at SA Recycling in mid-2014.


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the batteries into modules was completely changed, and a brand new battery management system was developed. It was clear that these changes were required for achievement of reliable operations.

EDD-2

EDD-2 was the first truck to utilized all the battery design improvements resulting from the TransPower engineering effort just described. It represented a major departure from TransPower’s initial ESS design philosophy, which had been based on installing batteries into relatively small modules, each weighing 300-400 lb. After seeing how difficult it was to install, access, and service batteries when they are installed into so many modules, TransPower altered its ESS design approach, starting with EDD-2, to install batteries into a smaller number of larger, more rugged battery enclosures. Figure 6 shows one of the first of the larger modules to be built, following its installation onto EDD-2. Each truck requires five such enclosures, as opposed to the 18-20 modules installed by TransPower into previous trucks. In addition to changing its module design, beginning with EDD-2 TransPower switched from 700 ampere-hour (Ah) cells to 300 Ah cells, which have been shown to be more uniform in charge capacity.

The green rectangular objects visible on top of the batteries in Figure 6 are the new BMS sensor boards TransPower developed, with power electronics partner EPC, in 2014. This new “Cell-Saver™” BMS installs more easily, communicates more reliably, and balances cells more rapidly and efficiently than competing BMS sensor systems such as the Balqon BMS sensing boards used on the Pilot Truck and EDD-1. Testing of these new boards throughout the second half of 2014 on EDD-2 validated their functionality, and this becase TransPower’s standard BMS offering beginning with EDD-5, as discussed below.

Figure 6. Larger battery module of the type first used on EDD-2.


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Equipped with the integrated PCAS controls and accessory concept first demonstrated in EDD-1 and the new energy storage subsystem, EDD-2 demonstrated significantly greater reliability than EDD-1, and was easier to service. It showed the same superior performance characteristics demonstrated by the Pilot Truck and EDD-1 – shown here hauling concrete blocks during initial testing at TransPower’s facilities in mid-2014. EDD-2 has since accumulated approximately 6,900 miles of use, initially in service with Total Transportation Services, Inc. (TTSI), and more recently with 3 Rivers Trucking – both drayage firms that support the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

EDD-3 and EDD-4

EDD-3 and EDD-4 (Figure 8) replicated the design of EDD-2, with the exception that they do not have the new Cell-Saver™ BMS boards. These new boards were still in testing on EDD-2 when the BMS boards for EDD-3 and EDD-4 had to be procured, so a decision was made to use a different commercially-available BMS sensing system on EDD-3 and EDD-4. For these two trucks, TransPower opted to use BMS sensors supplied by Flux Power. The Flux Power sensors do not have the sensing accuracy of the Cell-Saver™ BMS boards, nor do they offer active charge balancing, another unique feature of Cell-Saver™. However, they perform adequately for basic cell balancing functions and have been performing reliably on EDD-3 and EDD-4, both of which were completed in late 2014.

Figure 7. EDD-2 hauling concrete blocks during initial testing in mid-2014.

Figure 8. EDD-3 (rear) and EDD-4 (front) during final assembly in 2014.


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In mid-2015, EDD-3 was entered into service with California Cartage Company (“Cal Cartage”), the largest drayage company in the Los Angeles/Long Beach port region, and EDD-4 was entered into service with National Retail Trucking (NRT). NRT is one of the trucking firms used by IKEA to support its Southern California operations, and its use of EDD-4 was arranged by IKEA. EDD-4 is used by NRT to haul IKEA merchandise from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and to five its retail stores throughout the region. As of the end of 2015, EDD-3 and EDD-4 had accumulated approximately 5,000 miles of combined use by Cal Cartage and NRT. Figure 9 is a photo of EDD-3 at Cal Cartage.

EDD-5, EDD-6, and EDD-7

EDD-5, EDD-6, and EDD-7 were built during the second half of 2015, after the new Cell-Saver™ BMS boards had been proven to operate reliably on EDD-2, so the Cell-Saver™ boards were selected for use on these three trucks. They are therefore similar to EDD-2 in most respects, but with one key difference. EDD-1 through EDD-4 each use two inverter-charger units (ICUs), devices developed by TransPower’s power electronics partner EPC, which combine the functions of motor control and battery charging into a single on-board unit. Two ICUs are used on each truck through EDD-4 because each ICU can control only one motor, and these trucks each use two motors. However, the second ICU is never used for battery charging, as one ICU supplies more than enough power to quickly charge a truck’s batteries. As a result, when two ICUs are installed into a truck, the charging capacity of the ICU that is not used for charging is essentially wasted. In mid-2015, EPC offered TransPower a new inverter product that can control a truck motor without having the battery charging hardware included in the ICU. This makes the new inverter smaller, lighter, and less expensive than the ICU. To demonstrate the ability to capitalize on these benefits, TransPower elected to use one ICU plus one of the new inverter-only units in each of its dual motor trucks, starting with EDD-5. Figure 10 is a photo of the PCAS installed into EDD-5 showing the inverter-only unit (designated the “RS-12” by its

Figure 9. EDD-3 operating at Cal Cartage in mid-2015.


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manufacturer) wired into place. It is about half the size and weight of the ICU and presently costs about 25% less.

EDD-5, -6, and -7 were all in various phases of testing and operation by mid-2016. EDD-5 was undergoing testing by Southern California Edison (SCE), as an interim step before being entered into service with Knight Transportation in Compton. EDD-6 was operating at the Pasha terminal at the Port of Los Angeles, and EDD-7 was being test driven by TransPower to work out some issues that emerged with the new RS-12, before eventually being entered into service with SA Recycling near the Port of Long Beach.

Figure 10. PCAS installed into EDD-5, with inverter-only unit visible.


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RESULTS OF EDD OPERATIONS TO DATE

EDD-1

EDD-1 performed demonstration operation with SA Recycling based out of their Port of Long Beach, Pier T terminal (Figure 11). The truck was primarily used for large brake bulk goods movement including tons of recycled floor mats from Toyota’s Torrance Plant. EDD-1 accumulated more than 3,300 miles in roughly 6 months of limited demonstration operation. The daily average was about 50 miles, although without a trailer the tractor was able to travel a 104-mile route from Poway to the inland empire and back. The truck was well received by SA Recycling and operators provided many comments about how powerful the truck was and its smooth, quiet operation. SA Recycling also partnered with TransPower and the US Department of Energy to host a video shoot of the truck in simulated operation for use by DOE and the public for footage for zero emissions goods movement.

As discussed in preceding sections, EDD-1 experienced recurring battery-related problems and was removed from service in the summer of 2015 in order to prepare the vehicle for a 2016 upgrade to higher density and quality cells, possibly giving the truck 120-150 range in a similar application. The following issues occurred during the operation of EDD-1 at SA Recycling:

• Battery Cell Loss of Capacity – Balqon, the supplier of the cells for EDD-1, provided poor quality “leaker” cells that resulted in range limitations.

• Battery Management System (BMS) Lockup – Balqon provided a BMS which would fail in a manner that could drain a cell when the truck was in rest. This problem will be resolved by replacing the Balqon BMS in EDD-1 with the new Cell-Saver™ BMS developed by TransPower and EPC, which has shown on EDD-2 that it provides better reliability, accuracy, fault tolerance, and charge balance capabilities.

Figure 11. EDD-1 in operation at SA Recycling yard.


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• Battery Cell and BMS servicing was very difficult – As discussed previously, TransPower’s early ESS design placed battery modules in places that are difficult to service. Starting with EDD-2, battery packs were redesigned and relocated for ease of manufacture and service.

• Ground Fault Detection during heavy rain – Based on experience gained with EDD-1, updates to High Voltage Junction Boxes were made for better environmental protection.

These problems prompted TransPower to “recall” EDD-1 in 2015 so its first-generation Energy Storage Subsystem (ESS) design could be retired in favor of an improved ESS design. TransPower’s initial plan was to replace the EDD-1 ESS with the energy storage design TransPower introduced with EDD-2, which (as discussed previously) replaces the poor quality 700 Ah cells and BMS boards supplied by Balqon with higher quality 300 Ah cells and the new Cell-Saver™ BMS developed by TransPower and EPC in 2014-15. However, in mid-2015, TransPower secured additional funding from the California Energy Commission to test out a new high-energy battery supplied by a new company, Yinhe New Energy Ltd., and a decision was made to use EDD-1 as the first testbed for this new battery. As of the date of this report, installation of the Yinhe cells on EDD-1 was nearing completion and the truck was undergoing final preparations to be returned to service with these advanced cells. The higher energy content of the Yinhe cells is expected to increase EDD-1’s operating range under full load to about 120 miles, which will make it capable of handling SA Recycling’s demanding duty cycle.

EDD-2

EDD-2 was used by Total Transportation Services, Inc. (TTSI) for most of 2015, during which the truck was generally used 2-3 days per week. In early 2016, EDD-2 was moved to Three Rivers Trucking, where it was expected to be used more regularly. It has accumulated 6,901

Figure 12. EDD-2 in operation at TTSI.


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miles in total demonstration service with both fleets (Figure 12). Both TTSI and Three Rivers have been happy with the performance of EDD-2. Fleet Operator Comments include “it’s got plenty of power to pull the bridges” and “it’s so quiet” and “my left leg thanks you”. In a single day shift, the truck has been able to successfully pull three containers out of the various Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach Terminals, traveling about 70 miles while using about 75% of the available battery energy. Customers served include Target and Budweiser. In late 2015, TTSI adjusted its operations from a contract driver to company drivers and moved their truck dispatch center to a site on Terminal Island leased from PASHA. Since the charging infrastructure still resides at their old Compton, CA headquarters, the truck saw reduced operation during the fourth quarter 2015, precipitating the decision to move it to Three Rivers Trucking.

Issues observed during EDD-1 operation in 2015 included:

• Inverter High Voltage Interface Board – replaced with upgraded board. • BMS board shuffle error – replaced 2 out of the 56 boards. • Transmission Shifting error – Recalibration addressed tuning error. • State of Charge Software error – Software updated to address glitch.

By quickly resolving the above issues – all relatively minor for a truck as technologically advanced as EDD-2 – TransPower was able to validate that the improved design of EDD-2 provides a sound basis for production of future vehicles.

EDD-3

Beginning in March 2015, EDD-3 performed some test operation with SA Recycling for bulk goods movement in and around the Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles. In September 2015, EDD-3 was moved to the California Cartage Company in Wilmington, CA, where it began demonstration operation in October 2015 (Figure 13). Starting in December, EDD-3 initiated regular single-shift, daily operation, 6 days a week, averaging 40 miles per day and 2-4 “pulls” per 8-hour

Figure 13. EDD-3 charging at Cal Cartage.


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shift. The batteries averaged 30% available SOC remaining, with a minimum of 10% remaining on the longest shift completing 4 full turns at the terminals. Compared to other fleet operators such as TTSI and NRT, the near dock location of Cal Cartage’s Wilmington Facility allows for lesser “dead-head” from the trans loading facility to the various Port terminals in the San Pedro Basin.

Unfortunately, shortly after its use was increased to daily operation, EDD-3 was involved in an accident. On Dec 19, the driver’s door was impacted when another truck drove closely to EDD-3 while the door was open. No one was hurt, and the vehicle was repaired and returned to service in March 2016. The truck has been operated for more than 6,600 miles to date.

Issues observed with EDD-3 include:

• Inverter High Voltage Interface Board – replaced with upgraded board. • Addressed tuning error. • State of Charge Software error – Software updated to address glitch.

Again, relatively minor issues. It is viewed as a positive sign that it takes a major collision and body repair issue to take one of the EDD trucks out of service!

EDD-4

Test operation of EDD-4 was initiated in the Spring of 2015, when it was showcased at an environmental event hosted by San Diego Gas & Electric Company and used for brief demonstrations with fleet operators in the San Diego region. Since September 2015, EDD-4 has been performing regular demonstration service with National Retail Trucking (NRT) based in Compton, CA, exclusively for draying IKEA containers from the various terminals at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Generally, EDD-4 operates at evening gates, when more IKEA containers are “pulled” from the terminals. Due to congestion at the afternoon and evening hours, EDD-4 often will only get 1 or 2 daily “pulls” of IKEA containers at these times. NRT is the first EDD operator to provide regular container weight reports, enabling further development of TransPower’s tractor/trailer gross weight estimations. A table of container weights collected during October and November 2015 is listed in Appendix A.

Issue reported during the field operation of EDD-4 are as follows:

• Inverter High Voltage Interface Board - Replaced with upgraded board. • Transmission Shifting error - Recalibration addressed tuning error


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• State of Charge Software error - Software updated to address glitch. • Power Steering Faults – caused by software errors relating to the

accessory inverter.

In April 2016, NRT’s drivers refused to continue operating EDD-4, citing the power steering faults described above as a safety concern. Further investigation suggested that the drivers were dissatisfied with EDD-4 because its limited operating range allowed at most two round trips to the Ports each day, whereas diesel trucks can easily make three round trips daily. Since the drivers are paid by the number of trips they complete, it was easy to see why no one wanted to drive EDD-4. A high-level meeting was held with NRT and IKEA to discuss ways of resolving this issue in May 2016. Following this meeting, EDD-4 was returned to Poway to fix the cause of the power steering fault and to implement several other routine upgrades that were expected to increase operating range and overall reliability. The power steering fault turned out to be a relatively minor issue requiring adjustment of a voltage sensor for resolution.

The truck was returned to NRT in mid-June and a driver education program was initiated to help restore confidence in the vehicle. NRT was also considering ways of modifying its driver compensation and incentive programs so drivers of EDD-4 are not penalized for its reduced operating range. EDD-4 is expected to be returned to service by the end of July 2016. It has accumulated more than 8,160 miles of operation, including more than 7,000 miles of commercial drayage service.

EDD-5, EDD-6, and EDD-7

EDD-5, EDD-6, and EDD-7 were all test driven intermittently throughout the first half of 2016, following their completion at the end of 2015. Their entry into regular commercial drayage service has been delayed by a few key technical hurdles, mainly related to the inverter component of the drive system. As discussed previously, these three trucks are the first vehicles to use a new inverter architecture consisting of a single inverter-charger unit (ICU) combined with a smaller, lower cost inverter-only unit, designated by its manufacturer EPC as the “RS-12.” Deployment of these three trucks in early 2016 revealed the need for a sustained period of inverter-motor characterization to get the RS-12 to communicate reliably with the main JJE drive motor it’s responsible for controlling, and to extract maximum performance from the JJE motor. A similar process was required to optimize performance of the ICU when it was first introduced in mid-2012, prior to the start of the EDD project. By mid-2016, nearly 1,000 miles of test driving was accumulated on EDD-5, EDD-6, and EDD-7 as


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these issues were systematically addressed. This test driving included a video shoot for CNN that was performed with EDD-6 at the Port of Los Angeles in late March.

In addition to ironing out the kinks in the RS-12, TransPower and EPC worked together throughout the first half of 2016 to identify design improvements that should be incorporated into the next generation ICU. As the EDD fleet as a whole neared the one-year service mark (with a few of the earlier trucks exceeding this threshold), a few new failure modes were observed with the ICUs, primarily relating to its gate driver boards. A service campaign was initiated by TransPower and EPC to upgrade the gate driver boards in the ICUs in all the deployed EDD trucks, as well as to incorporate the upgraded design into any future ICUs manufactured. In addition, TransPower and EPC are collaborating on a plan to shift ICU manufacturing to TransPower by the end of 2016, and the design of the ICU is being simplified to make it faster, easier, and less expensive for TransPower to assemble these units. The end goal is to reduce the cost of each ICU from $30,000 to less than $20,000 by the end of 2017.

EDD-5, -6, and -7 are operating on firmware that permits about 80% of full power. EDD-6 is deployed with Pasha, a partner for which this level of performance is sufficient, and has generally experienced fewer powertrain faults. Pasha’s drivers are also tolerant of occasional faults and proactive in their response to resetting and reporting these minor incidents. EDD-5 was taken to SCE for testing of charge equipment and has been driven several hundred miles in the last month to generate Fleet Karma data logs to better associate driving conditions with faulting behavior. EDD-7 has been TransPower’s “test mule” to work alongside EPC in pursuing additional control code revisions that should result in elimination of spurious inverter faults. This process requires a team of TransPower and EPC personnel to drive the truck and to observe both truck behavior and inverter behavior (much of which is at a data rate too high for the current data logging approach) and learn by association which causes of faulting may be addressed with code revision. Several iterations of this multiday process have occurred as EPC personnel have become available and between code revision and dyno testing of the motors. A large majority of faulting has been eliminated, and higher power and faster shifting is being pursued at each iteration with the expectation that an acceptable software version, one with no faulting and full power, will be available to install into all the EDD trucks in the near future.


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PROJECT LESSONS LEARNED TO DATE

The EDD project has provided a wealth of lessons learned, validating the essential performance of the basic TransPower “ElecTruck™ drive system and identifying key areas on which drive system improvements were required to improve manufacturability, reliability, and serviceability. By evolving the design of the drive system as lessons were learned from earlier vehicles such as the Pilot Truck and EDD-1, TransPower was able to install highly reliable systems into EDD-2 through EDD-7. While EDD-1 was temporarily removed from service due to problems with its earlier generation battery subsystem, TransPower has acquired funding to replace the batteries and BMS system in this truck and will be re-entering EDD-1 into service in the second half of 2016. In fact, the new batteries to be installed into EDD-1 have a higher energy density than the cells used in EDD-2 through EDD-7, and may give EDD-1 as much as 50% more operating range than the other EDD trucks.

The most basic of the lessons learned from the EDD project is that all of the EDD trucks meet the basic performance goals that were set out for this project, which are summarized in Table 1. The trucks can achieve the minimum specified operating range of 70 miles with loads close to their maximum legal weight of 80,000 lb., and can certainly achieve 70 miles of operation with 65,000 lb. loads as specified. Maximum speed and acceleration greatly exceed specifications. Energy efficiency has been measured at about 2.5 kWh to 2.8 kWh per mile at average load, and time to recharge is approximately three hours.

Table 1. EDD operating goals.

Operating Parameter Value

Operating Range 70-100 miles at average load (65,000 lbs GCWR)

Maximum Speed Level ground: 65 mph 6% grade: 28 mph

Acceleration Fully loaded: 30 mph in 21sec, and 60 mph in 80 sec.

Maximum Gross Vehicle Weight

80,000 lbs GCWR

Energy Efficiency 3 kWh or less per mile at average load

Time to fully recharge from 20% state-of-charge

4 hours with single 70 kW charger


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By meeting these goals, and showing they can be operated reliably on a day-to-day basis, the EDD trucks have validated that battery-electric propulsion represents a viable solution for large numbers of Class 8 trucks that perform goods movement functions in California and elsewhere. Future efforts will focus on accumulating more miles of operation on the EDD fleet, so the longevity of the various drive system components can be measured and so further design improvements can be implemented. At the same time, TransPower is dedicating a major effort to reducing the cost of manufacturing its EV components and converting Class 8 trucks and other large vehicles to electric operation. Figure 14 shows the number of manufacturing hours required to complete each EDD truck. As indicated, there was a steady downward trend from nearly 5,000 hours to complete EDD-1 to fewer than 1,500 hours to complete EDD-7. The downward trend was interrupted briefly after EDD-4, primarily due to the change to using a single ICU plus an inverter-only unit in lieu of two ICUs, along with a few other improvements made during 2015. However, the hours for EDD-7 were back down to within 10% of the hours required to complete EDD-4, and TransPower’s expectation is that further reductions are possible with higher volume manufacturing and greater streamlining of processes.

Figure 14. Manufacturing hours required for each EDD truck.

TransPower also observed a reduction in component costs as the EDD project progressed. Recurring costs of component purchases declined by about 10-15% from EDD-1 to EDD-7, and further reductions are considered likely. In total, the basic cost of manufacturing each truck (labor and materials, excluding nonrecurring engineering and service or support costs) is estimated to have dropped from more than $800,000 for EDD-1 to less than $400,000 for EDD-7, over the course of the EDD project.

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The EDD project has also identified areas where further improvements may be required to enable widespread adoption of electric propulsion for Class 8 trucks. Among the lessons learned applicable to future development, it has been demonstrated that:

• The 300 kW electric drive system was capable of climbing the two Port access bridges at a full 80,000-pound gross combined vehicle weight rating.

• Sites with available 480VAC 100A circuits can perform installation of the electric charging infrastructure for less than $2,000 (excluding charging station equipment), while in other cases costs can exceed $50,000. A big factor are the location of the existing site switch gear and location of truck parking, especially high cost trenching requirements.

• Certain port applications can exhibit a corrosive high humidity and salty environment requiring extra protection for certain high voltage equipment.

• The approximate 6,000-pound penalty for the electric drive system can result in lower truck/trailer cargo capacity for those customers carrying dense brake bulk goods such as the heavy metal SA Recycling typically hauls.

• The 215 kWh Energy Storage System (batteries) are well sized for low speed, short haul application in and near the ports where most trucks travel 50-60 miles per 8-hour shift. Some contract operators prefer to intermix other container and trailer work into standard drayage operation which can require up to 120-mile per shift range. In response to such needs, TransPower is developing a 311 kWh Energy Storage System as well as CNG and hydrogen range extender APUs for longer range, higher speed applications.

• Despite the inherent ruggedness of the inverter-charger unit design, certain failure modes were observed with gate driver boards, fluid connections, and other parts of this key component as vehicles accumulated a few thousand miles of use. A major design improvement is underway to assure that future ICUs avoid these problems and to reduce the cost of manufacturing the ICU by at least one-third. Specific lessons learned and actions taken include:

o Gate driver upgrades have been performed in ICUs to provide better motor current feedback to control code developed for control of newer motors.

o Shift points have been adjusted and shift rates altered to help avoid ICU and RS-12 faulting when controlling the new production JJE motors during gear shifting.


June 24, 2016

o Several rounds of ICU and RS-12 firmware development have led to slightly different and partially effective operation of the new motors.

o Lessons learned in previous EDD truck deployment were integrated in ESS management.

o Lessons learned in reducing the DC-DC target voltage in previous EDD trucks were used to avoid over-charging the 12V battery.


June 24, 2016

Appendix A: TransPower EDD Fleet Status

(As of June 24, 2016 Unless Otherwise Noted)

Vehicle Mileage /

HOURS (Date last used)

Location / Fleet Contact Status

Open Items (Date to Close).

BOLD/Italics if required for service

EDD1 – RED 3330 Reported EV miles (3/26/15)

TP- Poway Assembling battery modules

2 gate driver kits (8/1/16) KAM Battery Install

EDD2 – Green 6901, Reported EV miles (7/1/16)

3 Rivers Trucking 2300 w. willow st Long Beach Ca Daniel Valenzuela 562 216-4340 Jerry moro Victor Oliveira 562 254-5262

Driver Complaint of Braking issue with front brakes. 3 Rivers to retest operation per TP instruction

Software check, ride along with driver (7/6/16)

2 gate driver kits

(7/20/16);

EDD3 - Dark Blue

6609 Reported EV miles (6/29/16)

Cal Cartage, POLA, 2401 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Los Angeles, CA Driver Pedro (tony) - 310 947-6837 George Fernandez - 310-261-8243

Meltric plug failure on evse

2 gate drive kits (7/21/16) Replace plug on temp charge station SCM PCM Update

EDD4 – Purple 8162 Reported EV miles (6/20/16)

NRT – Via Mondo 3000 E. Via Mondo. Rancho Dominguez, CA Reuben Mercado 562-618-5198

TP Upgrades – AWAITING NRT DRIVER Training

Training of new drivers (need ETA from NRT)


June 24, 2016

EDD5 – Copper


Temporarily at SCE Pomona Labs: 265 N. East End Ave Pomona, CA. 91767 To return to: Knight Transportation – Compton 2960 E Victoria St. Compton, CA 90221-5615 Alex Elizarraraz 310-748-7742

On loan to So Cal Edison for truck and EVSE testing

1 gate drive kit (7/19/16) EVSE Inspection during operation (7/6/16) Investigate shutdown on I10 Freeway during loaded testing (7/6/16)

EDD6 – Light Blue


PASHA Stevedoring Terminals – POLA Pier 180 802 S. Fries Ave. Wilmington, CA. 90744 Kim Stobie 310-233-2024

Getting ready for regular service pending software

Compare operational data to EDD7

EDD7 – Black 185 Approx. miles (7/5/16 TP Testing)

TP – Poway. To deliver to TTSI – Customs House POLA Tony Williamson 310 816-1142 Fernando Borgarin – 562-884-1781

Drive Performance Tuning @ EPC

JJE Full Power EPC / PCM tuning AC Installation. AC Resistor

Color Legend

Available for

Service, stable

hardware and

software

Unresolved Issue Reported Drivable

with known hardware or software glitches

Inoperable, needs parts or software


June 24, 2016

Interim Electric Drayage Demonstration Report … Electric Drayage Demonstration Report . Update –...

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