News | Truck & Bus
Approval for autonomous electric truck to operate on road
The Wrightbus for Australia
Freight technology company Einride announced that it has received approval from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to operate its Autonomous Electric Transport (AET) vehicles on public roads. With this approval, Einride will conduct a public road pilot to support operational flows for customer GE Appliances, a Haier company, showcasing the Einride Pod’s purpose-built functionality for future commercialisation. The autonomous and electric Einride Pod’s design does not leave room for a driver on board and is instead remotely monitored by a Remote Pod Operator, marking this pilot as an industry first for this new type of vehicle. The Einride Pod will operate on public roads with mixed traffic while executing real life workflows. This will include the movement of goods and coordinating with teams at various warehouses for loading and unloading.
Australia’s largest bus body builder Volgren has extended its zero-emission capabilities by partnering with leading European hydrogen bus manufacturer, Wrightbus to develop and deploy Hydrogen powered fuel cell buses for the Australian market.
“Wrightbus builds bodies for their products in the UK and Europe. In fact, they use similar body technology to Volgren, namely bolted extruded aluminium profiles. This shared expertise and understanding is one of the many aspects of the partnership that we think will make it a success.”
The partnership announcement follows Volgren’s successful grant from the Victorian Government’s Renewable Hydrogen Commercialisation Pathways Fund.
This is the first time Wrightbus has exported its powertrain technology to a bus body manufacturer, the first time it has entered the Australian market as a business, and the hydrogen buses will be the first of their kind to be built in Australia so this is a significant deal for everyone involved.
Yuri Tessari, Volgren’s Chief Commercial Officer, said the partnership with Wrightbus would bring the world’s leading hydrogen chassis technology to Australia. “We believe that Hydrogen has an important place in Australia and Wrightbus is one of the most important global players in hydrogen buses. We are confident the partnership will help speed up the deployment of hydrogen buses in Australia.
The first Volgren-Wrightbuses are expected to be ready in the first few months of 2023. The buses will be the first hydrogen buses in Australia to be built by an Australian manufacturer, and the first to be powered using European chassis technology.
Next Gen Trams for Victoria Alstom has signed a framework contract with Department of Transport Victoria, for the provision of 100 Flexity low-floor Next Generation Trams (NGTs) for the largest urban tram network in the world. The contract includes supply of rolling stock and 15-year maintenance making this the biggest tram contract in Australia and in the Southern hemisphere. A Remote Pod Operator will be monitoring the vehicle at all times – a first of its kind role that Einride sees critical in safely scaling autonomous vehicles by keeping humans in the loop and creating jobs to fulfill a future way of shipping. “This is a type of vehicle that has never before been seen on US. roads and marks a major milestone as a turning point for the future of the freight industry,” said Robert Falck, CEO and Founder at Einride. “We know the autonomous and electric technology of our pod will not only revolutionise transportation but also create thousands of jobs and help America stay competitive.” 12 | June/July 2022
Delivery of the Flexity 2 light rail vehicles is scheduled to begin in 2025. Introduction of the low-floor NGT fleet will enable gradual retirement of further high-floor trams from the Melbourne network, ensuring compliance with disability standards for accessible transport (DSAPT) requirements and provide a modern, inclusive, safe and reliable transport network for all passengers. The new fleet will further support the increase in network capacity requirements to meet the projected population growth. The contract includes 65 percent local content with the NGTs being manufactured at Alstom’s Dandenong facility in Victoria. Additionally, the maintenance contract includes 85 percent
local content. The contract will provide longterm stability to the local railway industry and supply chains in Victoria.
