Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - June 2021 - 12

EXECUTIVE VIEWPOINTS
The Allison Hybrid 40/50 Electric
Propulsion (H 40/50 EP) system,
paired with the Cummins B6.7 and
L9 diesel-electric hybrid engines, has
received 2021 California Air Resources
Board (CARB) certification.
Integration and development
It is important to integrate electric propulsion with the entire system.
That integration could be anything from the onboard energy management
- integrating energy management across the accessories, the
battery and propulsion components - down to the physical packaging.
One of the reasons Allison is producing e-axles, beginning later in
2021 with the eGen Power 100D product for vehicles with a 10-ton
axle rating, is this location optimizes battery integration onboard the
vehicle. For heavy vehicles requiring a lot of energy on board, having
the drive system packaged between the wheels frees up space for
the battery between the frame rails. It's also important to understand
how much energy capacity (kWh), and associated packaging volume
is required for a given vehicle on a given duty cycle.
Work on integrating electric powertrains has led to investment in
updated development laboratories. As Allison continues to expand into
a broader portfolio of EV propulsion, including e-axles, additional highvoltage
battery emulator capacity is being installed alongside traditional,
diesel-fired engines in test cells. That applies not only to dynamometer
cells but also the new Vehicle Environmental Test (VET)
Center in Indianapolis (see February 2021 issue's cover story).
OEMs will decide whether direct, central or e-axle drive solutions
best fit their applications, but their choices will be based, as always,
upon packaging efficiency, durability and the TCO for the system.
Since acquiring the e-axle IP from AxleTech in 2019, Allison engineers
have put the product through extensive development and validation,
both internally and with potential customers.
Trials in OEM vehicles continued throughout most of 2020 and are
ongoing in 2021. Feedback received from OEMs thus far suggests that
many like the e-axle location. There are, however, certain applications
where a central drive to replace the engine and transmission is preferred.
12 June 2021
Feedback from OEMs
suggests that many like the
e-axle location. Allison's eGen
Power 100D for vehicles with
a 10-ton axle rating will be in
production later in 2021.
A port truck, for example, can have a very high axle rating
- in that case, a central drive can be installed and the
existing attributes of the vehicle utilized.
Role of fleets and legislators
It's not just OEMs that are stating their position on
adopting new technologies and making commercialvehicle
operations more sustainable - fleets are as
well. For them, as always, cost is key. Wherever barriers
to adoption can be lowered or removed, including
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
BOTH IMAGES: ALLISON TRANSMISSION
Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - June 2021
