With production and delivery of the Mack MD Electric truck now underway, Mack Trucks has built a mobile off-grid charging system that will be integrated into the body of its new electric vehicle.
Mack announced the new system during the American Trucking Associations Technology and Maintenance Council Annual Meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition last week.
This mobile Mack MD Electric charging unit can be used for a limited time by customers who want to test the technology and by dealers when facilitating electric vehicle demos.
“It’s another tool in our ecosystem for challenges on electrification,” Mack VP, Electromobility George Fotopolous told FleetOwner. “We’ve come across situations where we’ve done some demos on the [Mack] LR Electric [refuse vehicle], which is a DC charging-only truck, that the depot didn’t have a means to charge. And getting the electrical company to come and put in the 480 three-phase does not happen overnight. It could also be used as a service vehicle for our dealerships.”
The off-grid charging system will consist of a generator powered by renewable propane and a 120kW charger. The system will be mounted on the back of the MD Electric truck transporting it.
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Mack currently does not have plans to make the truck-charger configuration commercially available in its energy solutions portfolio but can support customers interested in purchasing the truck charger combo through their supplier relationships, Fotopolous noted.
The Mack MD Electric can be configured to be a Class 6 or Class 7 vehicle. It features a three-phase Permanent Magnet Synchronous 260 horsepower motor powered by Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) Oxide lithium-ion batteries, rated at 240kWh and good for an estimated range of up to 230 miles. The MD Electric is the second electric vehicle introduced by Mack Trucks to the industry. The first was the Mack LR Electric, which went into production in December 2021.
The Mack LR Electric is a Class 8 refuse model with a GVWR of 66,000 lb. The next generation Mack LR Electric offers 42% more energy and a standard 376kWh total battery capacity for increased range between charges. Twin electric motors with 448 continuous horsepower and a 4,051 lb.-ft. of peak torque output from zero RPM power the vehicle.
Both trucks display a copper-colored Bulldog, which makes them easily identifiable as a Mack and denotes the electric drivetrains.