A diesel-electric hybrid truck has been donated by Leyland Trucks to the British Commercial Vehicle Museum following its use by the company as part of an extensive development programme of the relatively new technology.
The hybrid is based on a standard 7.5-tonne DAF LF model and uses a 4.5-litre diesel engine in conjunction with an electric motor/generator, which operates in various modes to maximise fuel economy savings. The vehicle harvests energy usually wasted during braking events to charge the hybrid batteries. During operation, the vehicle automatically switches from pure diesel drive to electric drive, which is both silent and cleaner. A six-speed automated transmission is fitted along with a 44 kW electric engine/generator and 96 Lithium Ion battery cells, each giving an output of 3.4V.
The vehicle was handed over by Ron Augustyn, managing director of Leyland Trucks, to John Gilchrist, chairman of the board of trustees of the museum, which is located in the centre of the Lancashire town of Leyland. “We are very pleased to be able to continue our ongoing support of the British Commercial Vehicle Museum by donating this Leyland-built hybrid truck,” Augustyn said. “This diesel-electric hybrid truck is based on our highly successful LF model, which is Britain’s best-selling truck. Its presence as a centrepiece of the museum will demonstrate to visitors – and in particular to the many young people who come on school trips – just how active Leyland Trucks is in the development of trucks that are more fuel efficient and more environmentally acceptable. We look forward to the display.”
John Gilchrist said The British Commercial Vehicle Museum isn’t only concerned with preserving the past history of road transport. “This is a living museum in which we also put on show products and technologies that are in use today, along with those of the future,” he said. “I am delighted therefore to receive this generous donation from Leyland Trucks of a development vehicle that uses a new technology which, although in its infancy, shows great promise and in the development of which Leyland Trucks has been very much to the fore.
“Putting this vehicle on display will allow us to give the thousands of visitors who come to the museum each year a glimpse into one potential future technology.”
To find out more about Leyland’s state-of-the-art truck factory, turn to page 56, July 2014 issue.
