Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - December 2024 - 6

TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS
POWERTRAIN | AERODYNAMICS
Shell's Starship 3.0 NG spotlights efficient powertrain, aero tech
Innovation often comes a piece at a
time, but what happens when you put
all those pieces together at once? That
is precisely the question Shell is attempting
to answer with its Starship
initiative. Now in its third iteration,
Starship 3.0 Natural Gas continues
pushing the boundaries of efficiency
and emissions reduction by employing
all currently available technologies and
engineering advancements.
The Shell Starship initiative was first
launched in 2018 with the aim of setting
new benchmarks for the commercial
road transport sector. The Starship 2.0
managed 254 ton-miles per gallon for
freight ton efficiency (FTE), which is 3.5
times the North American average.
Additionally, Starship 2.0 recorded fuel
consumption of 10.8 mpg on a crosscountry
run, which according to Shell is
nearly double the current fleet average
in North America.
The 3.0 NG version of the Starship
aims to take those figures even higher
while also significantly reducing emissions.
Truck & Off-Highway Engineering
was invited by Shell to Barber
Motorsports Park in Alabama to see
and ride along in the latest version of
the Starship.
The Shell Starship 3.0 NG on the skid pad at Barber Motorsports Park.
Old dog, new tricks
Like its predecessor, the Starship 3.0
NG is powered by a Cummins 15-liter
engine. But therein also lies the 3.0's
greatest divergence from its previous
form. The Starship 3.0 NG is now motivated
by an X15N natural gas variant of
Cummins' venerable big block. Shell
stated that the switch from diesel to
natural gas was spurred by significant
advantages in emissions reduction.
Renewable natural gas (RNG) is
readily available and has a net negative
carbon impact because it is derived
from organic waste that may otherwise
end up in the atmosphere as methane.
According to fuel system supplier
Hexagon Agility, 98% of CNG vehicles
in California run on RNG and roughly
64% of CNG vehicles nationwide are
running on renewable fuel (www.sae.
org/news/2024/04/hexagon-cng).
The X15N is seen as a major growth
opportunity for natural gas as a commercial
transportation fuel. " The launch
of the Cummins X15N 15-liter engine
will triple the addressable market for
heavy-duty natural-gas trucks over the
next few years, " said Eric Bippus, EVP
sales and systems for Hexagon Agility,
in an interview with Truck & OffHighway
Engineering earlier this year.
" This is a game-changer for our niche
industry, enabling a powerhouse solution
for Class 8 fleets traveling locally
and cross country. "
A walkaround
of the Starship
3.0 NG's
bodywork.
6 December 2024
Efficiency optimized
The Starship 3.0 NG employs just about
every trick in the book to make the
Cummins X15N work as little as possible.
Bridgestone has supplied a set of lowrolling
resistance tires for the rig, Eaton
provided one of its Endurant 12-speed
automated manual gearboxes and
Meritor bestowed one of its FUELite Plus
axles equipped with 2.64-ratio.
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
BOTH IMAGES: SAE/MATT WOLFE
http://www.sae.org/news/2024/04/hexagon-cng http://www.sae.org/news/2024/04/hexagon-cng
Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - December 2024

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