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GREEN ALL OVER

31st May 2007, Page 51
31st May 2007
Page 51
Page 51, 31st May 2007 — GREEN ALL OVER
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

European legislation is effectively reducing truck exhaust emissions — but what about the rest of the vehicle? Louise Cole reports.

t stands to reason that the less fuel you use, the better; fossil fuels are dirty and finite, as well as expensive.There are proven ways to cut fuel use,such as improving your vehicles' aerodynamics, reducing engine idling, eliminating empty running and choosing the right oil.

But in future the vehicle manufacturers might also help cut your fuel bills by developing suitable tech.nologylhis could involve: L Taking the mass out of the vehicle. Currently most manufacturing solutions are built around aerodynamic kits, which are continually improving but have a weight penalty However, building the truck from different materials could help here.A carbon fibre structure. for example, can be far lighter than an equivalent steel structure, and although it is currently expensive it becomes more viable in bulk.The design of the truck would need to be adjusted to take into account the change in material.

2. Capturing brake energy to charge batteries.This technology, regenerative braking, dates back to the beginning of the 20th century and works well with hybrid engines. Currently we release energy speeding vehicles up and then expend massive energy slowing them down, most of which is squandered as heat.

3. The development of greater driveline intelligence. The more the engine makes decisions, the less fuel is used —generally speaking. However, Richard Adams of MIRA, warns: "At the moment more work needs to be done on adapting cruise controls to maximise fuel economy; currently their objective is matching speed and distance and you lose some economy because the system will not rate speed to gradient in the way a person would." In future, he suggests, truly intelligent engines could minimise wasted energy and show dramatic fuel sayings. 4. The sharing of information by intelligent vehicles. Some military vehicles already tell each other about the best routes and speeds via BI tit:tooth technology.Trucks could do the same, combining real-world road knowledge with sat-nay data. Returning to the here and now, improving fuel economy is possibly the single most important thing Operators can do to ensure their business runs green. It is certainly the first thing you should do— and it is the most straightforward way to cut your running costs.

Recycling is not a choice Cars and vans now have to be almost totally recyclable under end-of-life legisla tion; this will affect trucks soon. However most manufacturers say their trucks are already up to 90% recyclable.The steel is reused, with chassis components tending to find a second life in trailers (in particular agricultural kit).

Plastics need more careful identification. and only a small amount finds it way back into the next generation of vehicles— although most of it is recycled in one form or another.

Recycling is clearly important for limiting the space taken up by landfill. However it is less clear whether the energy cost involved in turning trucks back into raw material is justified; it is hard to find anyone who can quantify the energy consumption involved.

Tony Pain, marketing director at Daf, points out that trucks already serve a useful purpose for much longer than cars: "The normal first life for a truck is perhaps 13 years, or a million miles. For a car it is six or seven years. We supply parts for trucks which are 20 years old and we get enquiries about parts from 50 years agolhat only happens with collectors in the car market."

The green motto is reduce, reuse, recycle'. If you reduce your fleet's fuel consumption and continue to use trucks for a longtime, you can rightfully claim green credentials. •


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