Advantages of E-trailers

Abstract

Heavy-duty trucks consist of a truck unit and a semi-trailer. In addition to the truck unit, the semi-trailers can be made electric with an electrical energy storage (EES) and an electric axle (e-axle). The resulting system is called an e-trailer, which can be combined with any kind of truck unit. When an e-trailer is combined with an internal combustion engine (ICE) truck unit, the resulting system functions as a hybrid vehicle. This configuration offers reduced fuel consumption, which also lowers greenhouse gas emissions and fuel costs. Alternatively, combining an e-trailer with an electric truck unit increases the truck's capacity and driving range. This allows longer haulages and can reduce infrastructure needed for charging the truck’s batteries. The system has some drawbacks, such as the initial cost of the e-trailer and the increased mass. This study evaluates the benefits of an e-trailer compared to a regular trailer with both an ICE and electric truck unit