FedEx - Hybrid Trucks

New hybrid-electric trucks transform express delivery industry

What began as an idea in March 2000 has sprouted into a delivery truck revolution: FedEx is making clean vehicle technology a business reality.

Putting cleaner delivery trucks on America's streets is taking hold at the country's trucking companies, with Environmental Defense Fund and FedEx leading the way.

"The commitment by FedEx to purchase hybrids demonstrates the business viability of these trucks on the road," said Gwen Ruta, director of corporate partnerships at Environmental Defense.

"As fuel prices continue to rise, fuel-efficient trucks are an investment every company should be making. And since hybrids also reduce air pollution, oil dependency and climate change, they're not only good for business but good for America," said Ruta.

Jumpstarting a movement and a partnership

The project took off in 2000 when Environmental Defense Fund envisioned a delivery truck that polluted less but performed as well as — if not better than — the average diesel-powered truck. In addition to meeting all the normal acceleration, braking, safety and operating requirements for trucks, this next-generation vehicle would increase fuel efficiency and reduce pollution significantly  as compared to an existing delivery truck. And on top of it all, the truck would have to fit into the company's bottom line.

In true FedEx fashion, our hybrid trucks have delivered on all counts. Compared to a 1999 baseline vehicle, the trucks:

• emit 96% less particulate emissions (soot),
• emit 65% less smog-causing nitrogen oxide (NO_x) emissions, as compared to the baseline vehicle (the 1999 FedEx Express W700), and
• are 57% more fuel efficient (resulting in big savings at the diesel pumps).

When we pitched our clean-truck idea to FedEx, an industry leader with the clout and determination to be an environmental innovator as well, we learned that some of the company's truck suppliers hadn't yet worked with hybrid technology When they heard FedEx was interested, though, they turned on to the idea. "It was at that moment that I breathed a sigh of relief," said Ruta, "and knew that our idea about using FedEx's purchasing clout to make change would work."

Once Environmental Defense Fund and FedEx realized they shared the same objectives and were operating under the same assumptions, we officially teamed up with the express delivery giant to put the plan in motion.

Next step: Finding truck suppliers that could deliver the goods

After whittling down proposals from 20 teams to two, FedEx and Environmental Defense chose Eaton Corporation of Cleveland, Ohio to design the hybrid system.

Following extensive development and testing, Eaton turned its prototype into a vehicle ready for prime time. In May 2004, the state of California and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger flexed some green muscle when they helped us launch two hybrid delivery vehicles on Sacramento's streets.

Partnership earns recognition

In the spring of 2005 our FedEx project got kudos from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government through its Roy Family Environmental Award and from EPA through its Clean Air Excellence Award.  This followed a nod from Tech Museum in 2003.

In addition to these distinctions, we're spreading the technology around the country, and the innovation is taking hold. Since 2003, several organizations including the U.S. Postal Service and a consortium of utility companies have all announced plans to build, test and adopt clean trucks. Even the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy are getting onboard with hybrid technology. But we are ahead of the game with more than a dozen vehicles already on the road.

Energy boost

"You might talk one company into doing something," explained Allison Bird, FedEx project manager of Environmental Engineering, "but you're not going to have a widespread impact unless it makes good business sense."  The myriad benefits this technology delivers are a big selling point for others to follow suit.

Bashar Zeitoon, an engineer formerly of Environmental Defense Fund and involved in the project, describes the hybrid technology as a kind of insurance policy. "The hybrid truck is over 50 percent more fuel efficient, which translates to less fuel consumption by more than a third. An indirect benefit from reducing fuel consumption is that it provides an insurance policy for operators against oil price shocks and will reduce their exposure to risk as they draw their business plans over the next 7-10 years."

Because the new breed of trucks operates virtually the same as the old ones, no additional training for drivers is required. And because it uses a regenerative braking system, there's less wear and tear on the brakes, which should translate into less maintenance and repair costs over the truck's lifetime.

Regenerative braking is one of the key technologies that saves fuel. Every time the truck's brakes are applied, rather than being lost to heat (as in the normal braking process), the energy is recaptured and put back into the battery.

Because of the constant stop-and-go nature of the delivery business, this form of truck is an ideal application for the technology. As Tim Morscheck, Eaton Vice President of Technology, puts it, "Basically, you're timesharing between diesel fuel and stored energy."

Heading for a green market?

As the marketplace moves toward stricter emissions controls on diesel engines, and as fuel prices continue to rise, hybrid technology is becoming more than a viable alternative — it's the pathway to the future.

"Most of the fleets we talk to are under real tangible pressures to make improvements for the environment, and this technology does that," said Kevin Beaty, Eaton's Business Unit Manager for Hybrid Electric Powertrains.

But if regulations pose something of a challenge to express delivery companies and fleet managers, incentives such as state technology funding programs can help overcome them.     

"Some states and cities have very stringent air pollution reduction requirements, and so necessarily they're looking to companies that can help them meet those goals," said Elizabeth Sturcken, project manager for Corporate Partnerships at Environmental Defense Fund. "So it's in a fleet's business interest to look at these issues and try to be proactive. And indeed there's also some incentive funding available to help get this new technology on the road."

Releases

Press Clippings

• Strange Bed Partners, Forbes, 11/24/03
• FedEx to Begin Using Low Pollution Trucks, NPR's Morning Edition, 5/21/03
• FedEx to Switch 30,000 Trucks to Hybrids, New York Times, 5/21/03

Posted: 20-Jul-2007; Updated: 11-Aug-2008