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| RunWise features a cradle design for packaging mechanical, hydraulic, and electrical components to facilitate installation, testing, and servicing. Click to enlarge. |
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has placed the RunWise Advanced Series Hybrid Drive (earlier post) from Parker Hannifin Corporation on the National Clean Diesel Campaign’s Emerging Technologies List. EPA’s Emerging Technologies Program provides an opportunity to foster the development of advanced technologies to reduce emissions from the fleet of heavy-duty diesel engines by providing funding to develop and evaluate these technologies in the field.
Key components of Parker RunWise include the engine, primary pump, secondary drive pump/motors, accumulators, and Parker’s proprietary Power Drive Unit (PDU). Parker’s RunWise Advanced Series Hybrid Drive is capable of reducing fuel use and emissions by as much as 50% depending upon the application and duty cycle and is the only drivetrain technology on the list.
Being placed on the Emerging Technologies List gives fleet owners the opportunity to obtain federal funding to test the technology on their vehicle fleets and for Parker to pursue full EPA verification. This in-use testing can further validate existing field results in pre-production units that indicate that our RunWise technology is the best technology available for reducing fuel use and carbon emissions in heavy start, stop duty cycles such as in refuse vehicles.
—Jeff Cullman, Group President, Hydraulics for Parker Hannifin
Developed and tested with support from the EPA at its National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the technology is already in use on refuse vehicles in communities in South Florida and cities across the country are considering the new system. Eleven trucks have been purchased by the Cities of Hialeah, Miami and Miami Dade County.
Danny Diaz, Director of Fleet Management for Miami Dade County who purchased six Autocar E3 refuse vehicles equipped with the RunWise technology, said the system is currently delivering a 45% reduction in fuel consumption.
Parker’s RunWise Advanced Series Hybrid Drive can recover as much as 70% of the energy typically lost during braking and reuse it to power the vehicle. It uses a two-speed hydrostatic drive combined with a mechanical direct drive that allows the vehicle to optimize performance at low and high speeds.
United Parcel Service (UPS) and Fed Ex have become the first companies to order a variation on the technology for use on delivery vehicles scheduled to be on the road in 2011. Parker is developing further advancements in this technology on advanced bus and terminal tractor platforms.