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FEATURE
The nine Fuso eCanter’s taking part in the Christchurch trials were launched at the Ruapuna race circuit.
Christchurch
By Brian Cowan
charges up
NINE FUSO ECANTER BATTERY-ELECTRIC TRUCKS HAVE HIT the streets of Christchurch in a Christchurch City Council-led project to demonstrate what’s possible with the electrification of commercial vehicles. The project aligns with the Council’s commitment to halve greenhouse gas emissions, from a 2016/17 baseline, by 2030. The trucks are being run by nine companies and are fitted with a range of bodies suited to various applications. They are leased through TR Group. The project involves two distinct elements, with the eCanter common to both. One is fairly representative of its type, monitoring the energy use and economics of vehicles covering a modest distance each day in urban civil construction maintenance services work. The other is more intriguing, in that it is monitoring the viability of possible future emission-free zones covering the delivery of goods and supplies to suburban shopping precincts. It is being run in the Northlands/Northlink complex in Papanui and the recently-developed cluster close to the Christchurch airport. What makes this second trial unique, says Christchurch City Council resource efficiency manager Kevin Crutchley, who is coordinating the projects, is that it involves the private sector, the shopping property landlords. “In essence, we’re investigating the potential for future implementation of zero exhaust-emissions delivery zones on their properties. “Where such zones have been set up overseas, they have been for the most part in the CBDs and administered by the
local authorities. In contrast, this is bringing the private sector into the mix. “It’s exciting to be working with property landlords to investigate the possibility of having zero-emission delivery zones,” Crutchley says. “What’s impressive is that the shopping complex owners are willing to discuss the possibility of in time setting up such zones, thereby playing a critical role in helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” Four delivery companies have a truck each in the shopping precinct project. They are Bidfood Ltd, Hall’s, PBT Transport Ltd and Toll New Zealand. The other eCanters are being run by five of the Council’s civil construction and maintenance contractors – CityCare Property, Fulton Hogan Ltd, HEB Construction Ltd, Higgins Contractors Ltd, and Isaac Construction Ltd. All the nine companies have primary charging points at their depots, but the shopping district project is also investigating the provision of charging facilities at the shopping centres for the delivery vehicles, so they can be receiving a top-up charge while servicing their customers. Depending on load, a typical day’s work for the maintenance group involves more modest distances, generally within the 120-150km range of the eCanter on a full charge. As Kevin Crutchley explains, part of the shopping precinct project is to look at what easy to use charging infrastructure might be needed when more battery-electric trucks are used for delivery services. “Private battery-electric cars are normally charged at home, Truck & Driver | 71
