A GREEN CARRIER

This summer saw Thermo King stake a claim for producing the world’s most advanced refrigerated trailer, the pragmatically named, Advancer.

The Trane Technologies ownedcompany said its three different versions, the A-360, A-400, and A-500, and offers an all-new hybrid design architecture that creates a new standard for performance, temperature control, and fleet connectivity.

“At Thermo King, we understand that with being a leader comes the responsibility to advance the technology and capability for refrigerated transport. Since we started the industry over 80 years ago, we have been innovating to meet and exceed customer needs, improve efficiency and reduce the environmental footprint of our products,” said Francesco Incalza, president of Thermo King Europe, Middle East and Africa. “Today, Advancer adds another milestone to our history. By introducing this completely redesigned trailer platform, we are challenging what is possible in our industry. This is our vision for the future of trailer refrigeration, and this future is now here for our customers.”

During development, the company drew up a list of hundreds of features and claims that the finished product moves trailer technology beyond incremental enhancements. It also claims it can pay back a fleet’s investment within two years with fuel savings up to 30% while going far beyond current expectations on uptime.

Senior product manager David O’Gorman says Thermo King went back to the drawing board to ask itself what does the future look like?

“I feel like a kid in a sweet shop,” he says and then explains that Advancer is the first-ever refrigeration unit with a fully variable air flow that is independent of the engine speed.

“I can almost hear you saying ‘what on earth does that mean’? Fully variable air flow means the highest airflow on the market, the fastest pull down in the market, the most precise temperature control in the market, and last but not least the lowest fuel consumption in the and if that wasn’t enough now, you can both see and measure your fuel consumption. How cool is that?”

Advancer uses a 48V DC mild hybrid technology brought over from other parts of the automotive industry, and O’Gorman claims the adoption of the system, means they can harness the power from a lowvoltage motor generator as required.

“We only deliver that power where and when it is needed,” he adds, before explaining the entire unit has been designed to reflect the maximising of up time that fleets need to stay profitable.

“We had a list of over 700 requirements and that was the short list. 700! Can you imagine how many were on the full list?” He asks, then adds: “One single day off the road can result in significant operational issues, financial loss or disappointed customers. As a result, Advancer has a modular future-proof architecture, fewer components, less moving components, easier access to serviceable items. It has onboard intelligence to predict service needs and integrated solar power to keep you charged. I could go on for another hour at least but I don’t want to put you to sleep!”

Thermo King is confident it can replicate the data coming out of its test labs and trials, including in excess of a million kilometres of running in places as far flung as the Australian Outback, Russia and the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa.

“We have tens of thousands of running hours in both diesel and electric mode without any failure so far,” he explains. “The bottom line is that this unit was designed to keep you on the road because that’s what matters. We predict a 60% reduction in unscheduled maintenance (that’s 6-0, he affirms). That number wasn’t just pulled from the ether, we have the proof. As a measure of the success, we’ve already received orders from some of the field trial customers and they don’t even want to give us back the field test units. In a nutshell, we’ve had overwhelmingly positive feedback.”

Trane Technologies committed to Today, Advancer is the quietest unit on the market: fully environment compliant; ready to enter in the city - day or night; and can run on alternative power for low emission zone or DSL zone areas”

reducing the carbon footprint of its customers by 1 Gigatonne by 2030 by encouraging use of its products and services. The team at its vehicle air-conditioning subsidiary are under no doubt when it comes to the task ahead.

“One gigaton is very big and it represents the annual CO 2 emissions of Italy France and UK combined it,” comments Laurent Debias, product management and marketing leader for Thermo King EMEA, adding that the newly launched range “shows our ambitions to make this a better world for all of us and for the coming generation.”

He says that Advancer needs 60%-less energy compared to traditional production processes. Pull-down time is up to 40% faster than the next best alternative on the market, he claims, before explaining that the unit should deliver dramatic savings in fuel and emissions.

“Imagine how much you save on fuel and time by the way? But that’s another story. On the road, you decrease the fuel consumption by 30%....30% less fuel and means 30% less CO 2 emission. It’s all adds up to an impressive 65% of reduction in emissions. This means 50 trees planted for every unit, every year.”

The authority that governs green regulation in its home territory is the European Commission and, like other countries and cities, it is enforcing ever-increasingly tighter regulations on Refrigerated Transport and trucks. Whether it is limitations to night deliveries, the introduction of low emission zones, ultra low emission zones, or DSL bands of emission tax, he says, Advancer will pass all current and planned regulation. Although, Debias adds, the company will soon

is working on an axle-power Advancer that should push the fuel-efficiency further: “The investment is safe today and in the future

“Today, Advancer is the quietest unit on the market: fully environment compliant; ready to enter in the city - day or night; and can run on alternative power for low emission zone or DSL zone areas,” he affirms.

Although Thermo King hasn’t revealed unit costs, commercial leader Donal Cox believes that fleet buyers will see a total payback on their return of investment within two years: “It is important for companies to stay financially

healthy in these challenging and competitive times. Advancer will improve your bottom line.”

He continues: “Your driver will be on the road one hour longer, there’s also a 60% reduction in service time anda 30% reduction in your maintenance costs.”

Each Advancer come comes with telematics hardware as standard plus a two year connectivity subscription across the full range. Connected Solutions as standard includeBluetooth Communications for the driver and a full range of tracking options for the fleet manager.

“We’ve integrated a brand new controller into the unit,” explains Cox. “The controller is the brains of the unit and man do we have a smart one here. The controller is continuously getting information from the unit. It’s getting low temperature and many other parameters to continuously adjust and ensure the unit is running in the most efficient way.

“The controller is looking after you, your cargo and your business. It mixes cool air as efficient and secure as possible on top of that it is incredibly easy to use. If you can use a smartphone; you can use our controller. It’s just that simple.”

Last month saw the transport temperature control solutions specialist begin deliveries of its new hybrid refrigeration systems for trucks and high-loaders to customers across Europe. The new T- and UT-Series Hybrid refrigeration systems allow for seamless switching between diesel and electric mode allowing transporters to operate in inner cities, residential areas and low emission zones with the unit’s diesel engine turned off.

Greggs, UK’s leading bakery food-on-the-go retailer with over 2,000 shops nationwide and serving over six million customers a week, is one of the first customers in Europe to experience the

• Fully variable airflow that can be regulated for each journey and cargo, and is independent from unit engine speed • Unrivalled electrical and fuel efficiency contributing to lower CO2 footprint and engines with 50 percent less emissions than the maximum

allowed by latest NRMM Stage V emission standards • Electronic engine speed control on the A-400 and A-500 units, which makes them the first units on the market to give complete transparency of fuel levels and fuel consumption. The fuel consumption data will be

recorded, displayed, and made available remotely via telematics • Lower maintenance costs and enhanced serviceability compared to the predecessor, thanks to sensors offering more insight into the engine, fuel, battery and the performance of other key components.

• Future-ready power agnostic capabilities that can utilize diesel, axle generator, or shore power sources with ease • Fleet intelligence as standard, with Advancer being the first-ever unit to offer 2 years of full telematics connectivity in the purchase price.

UK food retailer Greggs says the switch has allowed it to reduce noise and emissions in the urban environments it operates in.

benefits of the new hybrid refrigeration systems.

Three new trucks with Thermo King Hybrid systems will contribute to lowering the environmental impact and reducing operating costs of their truck transport operations in central London.

“Thermo King units have been our systems of choice for several years now. Their units have delivered good flexibility and work efficiency to our operations, and we could also always count on the Thermo King dealer service network to support us,” said Richard Penna, group logistics manager at Greggs. “We’re very conscious about the sustainability of our transport operations. It is paramount for us to operate in inner cities with as little noise and emissions as possible. It was a natural choice to work with Thermo

King and equip our trucks with these new units that can easily switch from diesel operation to electric, reduce the sound level and eliminate emissions. On top of that we expect to benefit from the lower daily fuel consumption.”

“Thermo King Hybrid technology was designed to help transport and delivery companies future-proof their refrigerated operations and investments. With this solution they can stay ahead of regulations, control their total cost of ownership and achieve important sustainability goals,” said Colm O’Grady product manager at Thermo King. “Thermo King was the first to offer its European customers a trailer hybrid refrigeration. Now, our truck transport customers can also benefit from this cleaner and electrified transport refrigeration to make urban distribution more flexible and sustainable.”

The new hybrid single- and multi-temperature solutions for trucks feature Frigoblock alternator and inverter-drive technology. The nosemount T-Series Hybrid and under-mount UT-Series Hybrid refrigeration automatically switches between electric and diesel operation as required or necessary. This enables the transport companies to operate in inner cities, residential areas and low emission zones with the refrigeration unit’s diesel engine turned off.

The system is also very well accepted by drivers, mainly due to the simple and smooth transition from one drive technology to the other. The driver only needs to set the vehicle when leaving the depot and the system will switch electric and diesel modes seamlessly during the working day depending on the unit’s requirements.

Thermo King Hybrid technology was designed to help transport and delivery companies future-proof their refrigerated operations and investments.

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The sight of trucks stopping on the roadside in Dubai could soon be a thing of the past with the Trucks Rest Stop Project in Dubailand on the Emirates Road passing nearly 55% of its construction, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced.

The facility is being constructed in partnership with the private sector and is said to be the first integrated truck stop zone that meets the basic and daily needs of heavy vehicle drivers across the emirate.

The project is being developed by the Al Sahraa Group and spans five hectares and includes 100 parking slots for trucks, as well as other facilities to serve the basic and daily needs of truck drivers. A specialised technical testing centre for heavy vehicles will also be included. The RTA says the station aims to sort out issues related to the parking of trucks besides highways and in residential areas. It will also enable the RTA to meet the rising demand for truck stops, considering that trucks make about 145 thousand trips and lift about 3 million tons every day in Dubai, the statement added.

RTA director-general and chairman Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer said preliminary processes preceding the construction phase such as obtaining non-objection certificates, leveling the land, protecting utility lines, and obtaining the final building permit from the concerned authorities have been fully completed.

He pointed out that the construction of the station will enhance traffic safety, reduce trucks-related accidents, and streamline the traffic flow during the trucks ban timings.

The RTA chief also said the project supported the Dubai Silk Road strategy encapsulated in the 50-year Charter of Dubai, and the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative.

“The UAE is a prominent station in the Economic Silk Road and is the gateway to the Middle East and Africa in the project that links the commercial markets in the region.”

The RTA commissioned a comprehensive study of trucks movement in Dubai along with site surveys, interviews and workshops with the concerned departments and companies. It also developed a schematic model to predict future truck movements, and assessed the need for dry ports, or goods assembly and distribution centres.

Ahead of the project, it also evaluated the policies and timings of the current trucks movement ban and the need for dedicated roads for trucks in addition to all organisational and structural aspects relating to the management of trucks and goods movement in Dubai.