Strengthening the case for electric trucks

You may have already read that the world’s first all-electric truck to enter series production – the Fuso eCanter – has been launched to the market, which is a sure sign of the progression towards this kind of powertrain.

However, issues that have always plagued the concept are the comparatively short range afforded by current battery technology, and the lack of widespread charging infrastructure.

To aid its efforts in marketing electric-drive vehicles, Daimler AG’s Trucks division is investing in the Israeli company StoreDot – a nanotechnology materials pioneer and one of the leading companies producing electric-charging and energy-storage materials.

StoreDot’s FlashBattery technology enables charging of any electric vehicle within minutes (as quick as filling up your tank with liquid fuel) and both companies have agreed to a strategic partnership that focuses on the field of fast battery charging.

Furthermore, FlashBattery’s high efficiency in recuperation is particularly interesting for commercial vehicles; better usage of braking energy increases the range and requires less frequent charging. Together with faster charging times, this results in higher vehicle usage.

“Fast charging is an important topic, especially for fleet owners of all Daimler Trucks brands. Together with StoreDot we will now work on a holistic approach to fast charging,” says Martin Daum, member of Daimler’s Board of Management, who is responsible for Daimler Trucks & Buses.

Doron Myersdorf, co-founder and CEO of StoreDot, adds: “Having Daimler as a strategic partner is of significant value to StoreDot. It will accelerate the completion of our development process and the introduction of FlashBattery to the market.

“Together with Daimler teams, we are able to create synergies that optimise the characteristics of our innovative solutions with the requirements of the electric vehicles of the future.”

Earlier this year, StoreDot demonstrated the viability of a concept for five-minute charging of vehicle batteries, showcasing how its new organic compounds combined with nanomaterials are implemented in the battery cell.

StoreDot’s new batteries are currently in an advanced stage of development and are expected to be integrated into electric vehicles that are now in their design phase.