United Parcel Service has announced the purchase of seven hydraulic hybrid vehicles (HHV) by 2010,promising significant fuel savings and environmental benefits.
The company said that it will deploy the first two of the new HHV’s in Minneapolis during thefirst quarter of 2009 and monitor the vehicle’s fuel economy performance and emissions in thisarea. The additional five HHV’s will be deployed later in 2009 and early 2010.
The purchase of the HHV is part of a public-private partnership to increase the commercialavailability and use of alternative fuel vehicles. The technology originally developed by theEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA), stores energy by compressing hydraulic fluid under pressurein a large chamber. UPS was the only company in its industry asked to road-test the technology twoyears ago and now becomes the first delivery company to place an order for the HHV.
UPS and the US EPA said the prototype vehicle had achieved a 45-50% improvement in fueleconomy compared to conventional diesel delivery trucks. UPS believes similar fuel economyimprovements and a 30% reduction in CO2 are achievable in daily, real-world use. The EPA estimatesthat when manufactured in high volume, the added costs of the hybrid components can be recouped inless than three years through lower fuel and brake maintenance costs.
UPS chief operating officer, David Abney, said: “There is no question that hydraulic hybrids,although little known to the public, are ready for prime time use on the streets of America. We arenot declaring hydraulic hybrids a panacea for our energy woes, but this technology certainly is aspromising as anything we’ve seen to date.”
The HHV uses hydraulic pumps and hydraulic storage tanks to capture and store energy, similarto what is done with electric motors and batteries in a hybrid electric vehicle. The diesel engineis used to periodically recharge pressure in the hydraulic propulsion system. Fuel economy isincreased in three ways: vehicle braking energy is recovered that normally is wasted; the engine isoperated more efficiently, and the engine can be shut off when stopped or decelerating.
According to UPS, its current “green fleet” totals more than 1,600 low-carbon vehicles,including all-electric, hybrid electric, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG)and propane-powered trucks. In addition to the hydraulic hybrid, UPS has road-tested hydrogen fuelcell delivery trucks. UPS began deploying alternative fuel vehicles in the 1930’s with a fleet ofelectric trucks in New York City.
The HHV vehicle order follows the May 2008 purchase of 500 hybrid electric and CNG vehiclesand the April 2008 deployment of 167 new CNG vehicles in Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, Ontario, SanRamon, Fresno and Sacramento.
