ENow says its new, solar-powered refrigerated trailer system functions as well as a diesel reefer unit and will reduce operating costs by up to 90% thanks to lower fuel and maintenance costs.
Trailer aerodynamics and glider kits might get a reprieve from the fuel-efficiency rules, but backing away from national rules would turn California loose, some warn.
A three-judge panel Friday granted the Truck Trailer Manufacturer’s Association request to provisionally stay the trailer provisions of the greenhouse gas/fuel economy standards that were slated to go into effect in January.
Court filings have begun to pile up that may ultimately determine the fate of the trailer-related provision within the federal Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards.
The eNow-supplied panels cut emissions and kept dairy products properly refrigerated in summer heat, the company said.
The Trump administration’s announcement that it will revisit parts of the Phase 2 greenhouse gas/fuel economy rules were greeted with cautious optimism by the trailer makers who pushed for the review, but with concern by other parties.
Just months before new greenhouse gas and fuel efficiency rules affecting trailers and glider kits are scheduled to start taking effect, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it plans to revisit those rules.
EPA and NHTSA have again indicated they intend to regulate truck trailers and glider kits under their Phase 2 proposal for limiting the GHG emissions and fuel consumption of on-highway trucks.
The system captures energy as a tractor-trailer brakes and runs downhill, and reapplies energy through a drive axle to help the truck launch and run uphill. Operation on the trailer is completely autonomous.
Two European startup companies have developed the Kinetic Energy Recovery System, a hybrid system for road freight vehicles that attaches to a trailer and provides a boost to the vehicle.