In the New Age of Stratotech

April 10, 2019 Volume 1, Number 4

Do you remember that phrase ‘high tech’? Can’t recall when we first started using it, maybe around the time that electronic engines and satellite communications came on the scene, so mid-1980s or thereabouts. I was almost ready to use it here, then realized – not for the first time – that it was woefully inadequate to describe where trucks and trucking are now.

Astronomically high tech? Wow tech? Stratospheric tech. Yep, I think that’s it – I’ll call it ‘stratotech’. Just coined a word.

One of the things that the new age of stratotech has brought us is a whole bunch of small and quite brilliant start-up companies launched in many cases by entrepreneurial engineers, some of them very recent graduates, with an idea and the bravado to pursue it independently. I think of Hyliion and its instant-electrification idea by way of an electric drive axle for class 8 trucks. Then there’s Quebec’s TM4, a very successful maker of electric motors.

As I wrote last time out, Dana bought a majority interest in TM4 last year and has invested heavily in Hyliion. Sumitomo Corporation of Americas also made a big investment in the company in 2017.

Dana’s ambition to produce electric drivetrains in quick order is enabled by these investments, and they’re very different from ordinary manufacturer/supplier relationships.

This level of collaboration is the new order as larger companies look to these smaller but very capable outfits to speed the development process. It’s happening everywhere you look.

In February of 2018, for example, after launching its AEOS all-electric demo tractor, Cummins added Electrified Power to its lineup of business segments and thus demonstrated its commitment to electrification and its long-term possibilities. That’s borne out with its acquisitions of Brammo, Johnson Matthey Battery Systems, and Efficient Drivetrains, Inc. Cummins is serious.

MERITOR INVESTS TOO

Meritor is doing much the same thing, recently announcing a further investment in TransPower, an electrification technologies provider for class-8 vehicles, to support future growth. It will fund continued improvements in the development of controls for its eAxle and commercialization of electric vehicles from both companies. Through various programs with major OEMs, almost 100 vehicles are planned to be equipped with Meritor and TransPower electrification systems between 2019 and 2020.

Meritor’s eCarrier platform integrates an electric motor into the axle, freeing up space for batteries and other components. The design serves as the foundation for various drivetrain configurations, including full electric, hybrid, and single or tandem axles with various options based on the application for vehicle classes 5 through 8.