Waste management firm tests SEA EV with WA’s City of Belmont
Australia may mirror European electric vehicle (EV) fleet developments with urban uses, such as recycling collection, at the forefront initially.
Waste management company Suez is to trial an EV with high Australian content with Western Australia’s City of Belmont for just such a task expects other customers to demand the same.
City governments, particularly in northern Europe, have pressured truck manufacturers’ customers to use quiet and emissionless work vehicles for urban and suburban tasks, such as waste collection and goods delivery.
The move is in a direction forged by South Australia’s East Waste and New Zealand by contractor Waste Management NZ.
Read about the East Waste electric truck effort, here
Suez state general manager WA Craig Barker states that the EV truck is the first of its kind for the company in WA and will be a “showcase for the future of waste collection”.
“Suez is always looking for new ways to deliver services to customers,” Barker says.
“This new generation of waste collection vehicle is only now becoming available here, and we are keen to test this proven technology for our Belmont customers ahead of wider demand from our other council customers.”
The electric truck features an Iveco cab chassis fitted with an electric powered drive train fitted by SEA Electric in a SuperiorPak body.
The 230kWh battery provides more than 200km driving range before recharge, which only requires a simple 32-amp, three-phase outlet.
The side-loader will save about 35,000 litres of diesel a year, avoiding around 90 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
“Reducing carbon emissions is a key element of our City’s environment and sustainability strategy, and innovation in waste management is an important part of this,” City of Belmont CEO John Christie says.
“We are delighted that Suez’s new zero emissions truck will lead our recycling collections and look forward to seeing it out servicing the community while minimising our environmental impact.
“The new EV truck will be collecting recycling from around the City of Belmont.”
Suez notes that, in addition to generating zero emissions and fuel saving, the EV saves on AdBlue costs, has minimal oil changes and significantly reduced maintenance.
“Improved braking also means brake pads only need to be replaced every two years, compared to quarterly changes in traditional diesel-powered side-lift trucks,” Barker says.
The side-lift EV truck offers the latest in electric/hydraulic waste collection and compaction and is capable of around 1,200 lifts per day on a single charge.
Suez’ states that the acquisition is “closely aligned with Suez’s commitment to sustainability leadership and to contributing to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals”.
This has led the French-owned group to investigate the creation of a liquid biofuel from wastewater plants that it runs in that country.
“The BioGNVAL project has now demonstrated that we can produce a clean fuel that does not emit any fine particles, makes 50 per cent less noise and cuts CO2 emissions by 90 per cent compared with a diesel [engine],” ,” the group says.
“The BioGNVAL project has demonstrated that we can produce a clean fuel that does not emit any fine particles, makes 50% less noise and cuts CO2 emissions by 90% compared with a diesel engine, all from our wastewater.
“The BioGNVAL industrial demonstrator can treat almost 120 Nm3/h of biogas, to produce one ton/day of bioLNG, or the equivalent of two full tanks for a heavy vehicle.
“Tests have shown that the wastewater produced by 100,000 inhabitants could produce enough bioLNG to fuel 20 buses or 20 trucks.”
Suez was awarded the collections contract for the City of Belmont in November and will have its new diesel fleet on the road around now.
The EV truck is expected to commence service in Belmont from June.
Suez was awarded the collections contract for the City of Belmont in November and is rolling out its new diesel fleet of Iveco ACCO 2350G 6x4s this month.
The EV truck is expected to commence service in Belmont from June.