With certain countries working to outlaw older diesel vehicles, TransPower’s ElecTruck might help solve the issue. In California, the fight against smog has made all electric vehicles’ zero tailpipe emissions a great thing by many accounts. So, if small cars can do it, why not some larger road-going vehicles? Transportation Power Inc. has been designing and testing heavy shipping, and yard tractors, with five of these trucks “battery-powered” trucks now at work. According to President Mike Simon, “we hope to have 1,000 or more electric trucks of various types running by the end of the decade”.

The TransPower battery-electric tractors were converted from diesel powered models at the firm’s plant in Poway, which is North of San Diego. The engines and manual transmissions are replaced with the required electric components, which consist of five large boxes containing lithium ion phosphate batteries, specially engineered electronic inverters and controls, and a pair of electric motors running through an Eaton Ultrashift 10-speed automated mechanical transmission.

California’s Clean Air authorities and others awarded the company about $25 million in grants and investment since the company’s inception in 2011. About $12 million is being spent on truck development.

One of the operational tractors is being put through the paces in everyday service with SA Recycling, a large scrap metal dealer with facilities on Terminal Island, adjacent to the Port of Long Beach. With a tare weight of roughly 22,000 pounds, the TransPower vehicle is about 5,500 pounds heavier than a standard diesel-powered day-cab tractor. SA gets around this by assigning the electric unit to lighter loads. It has a range of 70-100 miles, and it returns regularly for recharging.

A fleet of 11 demonstrator trucks are currently being manufactured, two of which have already been completed and subjected to extensive road testing under actual operating conditions.