The electric and plug-in hybrid drivetrain solutions firm Efficient Drivetrains Inc (EDI) has now unveiled its new PowerDrive 8000 Series line of products, which were designed to function in heavy-duty Class 8 vehicle applications.
The new powertrain product line, EDI PowerDrive 8000, will be available beginning sometime in early 2018. The company has apparently already taken receipt of a number of project contracts that will utilize the solution — both the all-electric and the plug-in hybrid versions of it. Initial project deployment will reportedly take place towards the middle of next year with an OEM partner.
The new release follows EDI’s earlier release of the popular medium-duty EDI PowerDrive 6000 and 7000 series, which have to date been utilized by firms such Blue Bird Bus, Freightliner, Peterbilt, Thomas Built Bus, and Shaanxi.
With regard to the new EDI PowerDrive 8000EV offering, this zero-emissions solution will provide a +100 mile all-electric range. With regard to the new EDI PowerDrive 8000 solution (the plug-in hybrid solution), it will offer a +35 mile all-electric range and a +300 mile series-parallel hybrid driving range, as well as a better fuel economy than any other hybrid options currently on the market. Options include the EDI Electric Power Export (EDI Power2E) option — which is what it sounds like, a means of allowing your truck to provide power for tool operation, a backup power supply, and/or vehicle-to-grid (V2G) operations.
While those ranges may not sound like much when compared to those of the recently unveiled Tesla Semi Truck, they will likely meet the needs of a fair number of customers … and the Tesla Semi Truck is of course not skated to be released for a couple of years, at the earliest.
The press release provides a bit more: “Efficient Drivetrains will be offering its EDI PowerDrive 8000 series as an electrification kit and developer support program for OEMs looking to quickly bring heavy duty electrified vehicle offerings to market, and comply with impending emissions reductions requirements. The EDI PowerDrive kit offers OEMs a modular design for easy integration into existing chassis designs and enables rapid vehicle solution introductions.
“Electrification kits will include a high-efficiency drivetrain (EDI PowerDrive), vehicle control and telematics software (EDI PowerSuite), and the training and support infrastructure to enable fast time to market. To speed market introductions, EDI can also install the powertrain systems and perform vehicle integration as a service for OEMs.”
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