As the world continues to pursue sustainability, the refrigerated transportation industry has also ushered in its green revolution. On July 1, 2024, the news came from the truck technology front that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) issued a ban on diesel-powered refrigeration units (TRUs) for medium-duty trucks, marking an important step in the refrigerated transportation industry’s transition to zero emissions.
Green regulations lead the change
California’s new rules are the catalyst for this change. According to the regulations, 15% of the fleet must switch to pure electric refrigeration units each year. This policy not only puts pressure on the fleet, but also spawns the development of new electric trucks that can directly use on-board batteries to power TRUs.
Application of zero-emission technology
At the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo, Penske Truck Leasing, Daimler Trucks North America and Carrier Transicold jointly launched a medium-duty electric truck with integrated zero-emission refrigeration. The truck, which features a Freightliner eM2 battery-electric box truck and Carrier Transicold’s Supra e11eColl electric refrigeration unit, demonstrates the practicality and efficiency of an electric TRU.
Not to be outdone, American Isuzu Commercial Truck Company unveiled the Isuzu NRR electric truck integrated with the Thermo King e300 all-electric TRU, with a powertrain capable of delivering up to 26 kWh of peak output to meet power needs during high-demand periods.
Challenges of Charging Infrastructure
However, the successful deployment of zero-emission trucks and TRUs is inseparable from a sound charging infrastructure. Currently, the development of charging infrastructure is relatively lagging, which has become a major challenge within the industry and a major barrier to wider adoption.
The rise of plug-in hybrids
While all-electric solutions are not yet fully popular, plug-in hybrid TRUs are gaining recognition in the market for their ability to eliminate emissions during the pre-cooling and operating phases. Such systems are able to provide suitable plug-in power within loading and unloading facilities, enabling continuous cooling and freezing while significantly reducing operating costs.
Fusion of innovative technologies
Multi-purpose trailer manufacturing company and European trailer manufacturer Schmitz-Cargobull Corp. introduced new transport refrigeration unit technology to North America, which is expected to reduce fuel consumption by 20%. In the future, the pure electric TRU will use the electric drive axle to recover the energy of the axle to charge the battery and power the cooling unit.
The power of data and remote communication
With the advancement of technology, the role of remote communication and data in transport refrigeration is becoming increasingly prominent. The TRU telematics system provided by Carrier Transicold, Thermo King and other companies can help fleet managers obtain key data, optimize operations and reduce investment risks.
The energy consumption tool developed by Thermo King can calculate the total savings and carbon dioxide emissions of pure electric truck refrigerated trucks compared with diesel equivalent truck refrigerated trucks, providing fleets with decision support for transformation and investment.
Conclusion
The development trend of refrigerated truck transport refrigeration units points to a greener, more efficient and intelligent future. With the promotion of regulations, technological innovation and improvement of infrastructure, we have reason to believe that zero-emission refrigerated transportation will soon become the new standard in the industry.
