Truck & Bus News

Briefs

Hyzon Hymax to be first hydrogen heavy vehicle in Australia

Hyzon Motors has signed a vehicle supply agreement with Australian industrial gases company Coregas to deliver two hydrogen fuel cellpowered prime movers to New South Wales. The Hyzon Hymax-450 prime movers are expected to be delivered in the first half of 2022 and mark the first hydrogen-powered heavy vehicles to operate in Australia. The prime movers should be immediately deployed upon arrival from Hyzon’s manufacturing facility in the Netherlands. Coregas is in the process of developing Australia’s first commercial vehicle hydrogen refuelling station at its Port Kembla facility to support both the Hyzon hydrogen-powered heavy-duty vehicles and the refuelling of trucks and buses operated by third parties. The project represents a strategic first step in developing a broader hydrogen ecosystem.

FatigueM8 system to check driver fatigue

Augmented-Intelligence based in Canberra has developed a system called FatigueM8 to monitor driver fatigue in trucks which checks in with the driver every couple of hours and decides if they need a break. It checks heart rates, behavioural changes and a host of other data via sensors built into the truck steering wheel. The driver gets a score to indicate the level of tiredness experienced with green, amber and red alerts. The system can be fitted onto existing steering wheels.

Organisational changes at IVECO

IVECO has announced organisational changes with the latest appointments taking effect immediately across sales, aftersales, product development and marketing. Current Head of Sales – Truck and Van, Glen Dyer, has also assumed responsibility for the Bus and Special Vehicles portfolio. The newly created position of Head of Customer Services has been filled by Margot Baker, who previously held the role of Legal Counsel at IVECO. Current IVECO Head of Network Development, Ella Letiagina’s role has been expanded to include Product and Marketing. IVECO stalwart Marco Quaranta has assumed the position of Strategic Relations and Industry Relations Manager with a focus on propulsion, while experienced IVECO Product Manager, Emiliano Foieri has been promoted to Product Management Lead.

Coach builder Irizar takes on new employees

A leadership change at coach-body distributor Irizar Australia will see ex-Iveco bus employee Steve Heanes head up the Spanish manufacturer as managing director which was effective in early September. Previous MD Daniel Castro has joined Irizar in the US.

Victoria Bitter is turning green

Victoria Bitter is going green, with the Big Cold Beer to be delivered in Melbourne via electric vehicles in a new Volvo FL all-electric truck, the first-ever electric vehicle in the Linfox fleet.

The VB truck is the first mass-produced electric truck of its size in Australia and one of more than 50 Volvo FL allelectric trucks delivered globally to date. It will deliver 100,000+ cans and stubbies each week from Asahi Beverages’ distribution centre in Melbourne’s west. The truck will be powered entirely by 100 percent offset solar power drawn from Asahi Beverages’ solar farm near Mildura in northern Victoria.

BusTech to make electric buses for Queensland

Following the announcement of a strategic partnership with Keolis Downer, BusTech Group will manufacture 16 new electric buses for operation on Queensland roads.

The $15.6 million deal with Keolis Downer will also create the state’s first 100 percent electric bus depot in North Lakes at Hornibrook Bus Lines. “This deal will see the largest rollout of electric buses in Queensland to date,” Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said. “These buses will be built right here in Queensland, at BusTech on the Gold Coast. “The Palaszczuk Government has made a commitment that by 2025 every new urban bus we add to the fleet in SEQ will be zeroemissions, by 2030 we’ll roll that out to the rest of the urban fleet and of course we want them to be built here in Queensland.” The investment to make the North Lakes depot fully electric and build these buses on the Gold Coast is expected to support 150 jobs over the next two years. It’s also expected to bring more than $17 million of estimated value into the economy for local suppliers and contractors. BusTech Queensland will manufacture the 16 Australian-designed and engineered electric buses in their facility in the Gold Coast. The first bus is due to arrive at the North Lakes depot in September 2022, ahead of all 16 being ready for service by late 2023. BusTech has already produced 20 buses for use in South Australia at the group’s Adelaide facility and 17 of these buses are hybrid electric. The company employs more than 250 people in Australia and uses local engineering capabilities. The hybrid buses have been developed with Scania. The first three hybrid buses have already rolled off the production line.

Volta confirms: sustainable packaging, manufacturing and testing

Electric commercial vehicle maker Volta Trucks confirmed the appointment of CPC Group, Europe’s largest composite manufacturing company, to develop and supply the sustainable and recyclable composite exterior body panels for the Volta Zero.

The Volta Zero is a purpose-built fully electric 16-tonne commercial vehicle designed specifically for inner city logistics. When the Volta Zero was launched in September 2020, it was the first commercial vehicle to use sustainably sourced flax and biodegradable resin composite panels. The natural, lightweight, high-performance fibre is almost CO2 neutral over its lifecycle, and matches the stiffness and weight of carbon fibre but uses 75 percent less CO2 to produce. CPC Group has more than 10 years of composites experience and has grown to become Europe’s largest composites manufacturer, employing more than 1000 experts, with investments of more than €300 million ($485m), it aims to transform composite vehicle production from niche into volume. Meanwhile, engineering evaluation and development testing of the first prototype Volta Zero has been underway in the UK. Affectionately named ‘Volta Minus One’ by development engineers, as the forerunner to the production-specification Volta Zero, the prototype vehicle uses the proposed production specification chassis frame and drivetrain of the finished vehicle and the team will test all the electro-mechanical and thermal properties of the truck. This includes the high-voltage battery supplied by Proterra, and the compact rear axle, electric motor and transmission eAxle unit from Meritor. The test and development programs also include periods of cold weather testing north of the Arctic Circle, and hot weather testing in southern Europe. Full-scale production of customerspecification vehicles will be at the end of 2022. The first Volta Zero vehicles will be manufactured in Steyr, Austria, by Steyr Automotive, formerly MAN Truck and Bus Austria. The announcement follows a wide-ranging competitive tender process with potential suppliers throughout Europe. Steyr Automotive was appointed based on its extensive experience of commercial vehicle manufacturing, existing manufacturing infrastructure and consequent speed to market. The confirmation of the manufacturing partnership forms an integral part of the Volta Trucks Road-to-Zero Emissions strategy, released in May 2021. The strategy sees four Volta Zero models ranging from 7.5 to 19 tonnes, with more than 27,000 units built per year by 2025. Additional global manufacturing plants are also already under consideration.

Polaris Goupil G4

Recent reports in online motoring publications The Driven and Drive suggest that a new electric micro truck is about to hits the streets in Australia.

The Goupil G4 is apparently undergoing approval and according to Drive parent company Polaris says it will go on sale later this year or early next year depending on delivery times from overseas. Polaris is widely known in Australia for its quad bikes and this vehicle is not very much bigger with the short wheelbase M version just 3600mm long and the long wheelbase L version 4150mm. With a possible 30 modular attachments the vehicle can be configured for uses in waste collection, refrigeration, pick up and as a last mile delivery vehicle as well as many others. The G4 is power by an electric motor with a single speed transmission and is not particularly quick with a top speed of just under 50km/h and a range of only 135 kilometres. According to the French Groupil site the G4 is designed with an ultra-robust steel chassis on which rests an aluminium cabin, the batteries are positioned in the middle. This structure together with the propulsion choice offers a residual payload of more than one ton. It is equipped with McPherson suspension at the front and with composite blades at the back and a double circuit brake system.