UPS promotes hydraulic hybrid vehicle

UPS announced Monday it is the first transportation company to purchase a hydraulic hybrid vehicle that shows promise in significantly reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

The world's largest package delivery company said it plans to order seven of the prototype delivery vehicles and begin testing them in real-world driving conditions next year. The first two vehicles will be deployed in Minneapolis during the first quarter.

The technology, developed by the Environmental Protection Agency in conjunction with Eaton Corp., combines a diesel engine with a hydraulic propulsion system that replaces a conventional drive train and transmission.  The Hydraulic Hybrid Vehicle (HHV) uses hydraulic pumps and hydraulic storage tanks to capture and store energy in a large chamber, similar to what's done with electric motors and batteries in hybrid electric vehicles. The diesel engine is used to periodically recharge pressure in the hydraulic propulsion system. Fuel economy is increased by capturing vehicle braking energy, efficiently operating the engine at a constant state and shutting off the engine when stopped or decelerating. 

There is no question that hydraulic hybrids, although little known to the public, are ready for prime time use on the streets of America, said David Abney, UPS's chief operating officer, in a statement. We are not declaring hydraulic hybrids a panacea for our energy woes, but this technology certainly is as promising as anything we've seen to date.

Initial road tests with a prototype package car in Detroit show the HHV can reduce fuel consumption by 40 percent to 50 percent and carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent compared to a traditional diesel vehicle, the Atlanta-based logistics provider said.

At a press conference from its home city broadcast on the Internet, Abney said the seven hybrid vehicles would provide a better real-world test of the technology's performance and hopefully lead to further adoption within the UPS fleet.

The key to getting quantifiable air quality results is to quickly get started on mass production, proponents of HHV said. Roughly one-third of pollution contributing to global warming comes from the transportation sector, according to the EPA.

One way to pry open the market and drive economies of scale that will lower per unit costs, said Eaton Chairman and CEO Alexander Sandy Cutler, is for federal, state and local governments, as well as large commercial fleets, to order vehicles for civilian and military use.

The HHV technology can provide new manufacturing opportunities and jobs in the United States if industry and government move quickly to take advantage of the situation, Christopher Gundler, deputy director of EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, said at the event. Hydraulic technology applications in transportation include trucks, shuttle and transit buses, garbage trucks and off-road vehicles. The U.S. Army is investigating their use for combat and transport on bases, he said. 

We need to get these technologies moving quickly and not cede them to other parts of the world, Cutler added.

Truck maker Navistar International Corp. will produce the HHVs for UPS.

The relative payback for users will depend on production demand. Gundler said preliminary estimates show HHV vehicles will cost about $7,000 more than a regular vehicle and that a large delivery firm like UPS might get that premium back within three years or less through lower fuel and brake maintenance costs. Savings eventually might allow a buyer to recoup the purchase price of the vehicle, he added. The calculations are dependent on the settled manufacturing costs and the price of fuel.

What distinguishes this is the cost reduction potential of this technology vis-vis its competitors, Gundler said.

Officials said the hydraulic hybrid is even more efficient than electric hybrids for large vehicles, reliable and easy to maintain because it relies on mechanical systems rather than a battery or other complex technology.

Abney said the HHV is best for urban situations involving much stop-and-start driving that requires constant braking and the energy that it creates.

UPS is testing seven or eight alternative fuel technologies and has a fleet of more than 2,100 green vehicles including all-electric, propane and compressed natural gas vehicles. Earlier this year UPS purchased 200 hybrid electric package vehicles with Eaton power systems from Freightliner.

FedEx also has hybrid electric vehicles with Eaton drive trains.