BTS: Truck electrification from Dana and Meritor

The Dana stand at Brisbane’s May 16 event was dominated by a pair of electric driveline solutions that Dana’s Brad Wolstenhome described as “currently available”.

Although the company has been developing electric driveline products for some years, the process has taken on new urgency in the past 12 months, during which time Dana has begun production of eAxles in China.

In recent months Dana has taken over the following specialist companies: electric motor specialist TM4; SME Group – producer of low voltage motors and controllers for hybrid drivelines; Oerliken Drive Systems – high-precision helical gear and planetary drive makers and also established an alliance with Helion, who make propulsion systems for heavy-duty applications.

Dana sees the need for a variety of e-propulsion systems, including hybrid transmissions, independent eAxles, direct-drive motors, e-powered axles and wheel drives in vehicle sizes ranging from golf carts, through fork lifts and trucks to earth moving equipment.

The display exhibits were TM4’s hybrid battery charging module and electric motor.

The hybrid module was designed to bolt to an internal combustion engine and charge a battery pack, with a conventional propshaft attached to its output shaft. The battery pack can drive an electric motor fitted to a tag axle.

The electric motor display showed the driveline of SEA’s locally-fitted Isuzu F Series that’s being trialled by SEA and Isuzu Australia.

The 350kW motor was designed to operate with a conventional propshaft and axle drive head.

The well-known axle maker introduced products from its Blue Horizon electric drivetrain division that’s committed to developing electric drivetrains for vehicles from pickup size upwards.

The display unit was a 14Xe axle that’s designed to replace a diesel engine, transmission and driveline, or work in conjunction with a series hybrid powertrain, where there’s no mechanical connection between diesel engine and axle.

The 14Xe eAxle can have power settings of 150, 180 or 200kW, with peak power of 250kW. Axle load capacity is 7400kg to 10,500kg and applications range from pick up and delivery, through bus and refuse duties, to linehaul.

The permanent magnet electric power head bolts to a conventional axle tube, using the same pattern as a mechanical power head, but some electric and cooling components are integrated into the differential design.

Meritor claims this integration makes the 14Xe more compact, lighter and more efficient than designs that simply replace a mechanical power head with a bolt-on electric motor.

It’s also a planetary two-speed unit that can automatically ‘shift on the fly’ from a 3:1 ratio to direct drive. This function allows the electric motor to be much smaller than a single-speed unit and to operate in its most efficient speed range.

The 14Xe is also retro-fittable and can ‘drop-in’ to an existing mechanical-drive axle, without the need for any modifications to axle, suspension or brakes.

Meritor’s existing contracts with OEMs are expected to result in 130 14Xe-equipped trucks on US roads by the end of 2019.