ABSTRACT The objectives of this project were to evaluate the reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions made possible by hybrid technology, and to identify good driving habits with this type of vehicle. Two diesel-electric hybrid pick-up and delivery trucks and one diesel-electric hybrid utility vehicle equipped with an electric driven PTO (power take-off) system were included in the project. The first phase was the evaluation in actual operating conditions. Onboard computers were installed in the vehicles to record parameters that make it possible to determine driving habits. Based on operational data, specific duty cycles were built and track tests were conducted to measure the fuel consumption on these duty cycles. It was therefore possible to compare the hybrid trucks with other diesel trucks featuring similar characteristics. The delivery hybrid trucks showed up to 34% fuel savings during the track tests. Achieving major savings will require driving mainly on urban hauling routes, in a not too aggressive manner, to allow the recharge of batteries and electric-assisted power. An appropriate training of drivers is recommended and a best driving practices manual was prepared to that end. For the utility truck, the savings are greater when the PTO time is longer. Compared with the conventional control diesel vehicle, track tests showed 11% fuel improvement for a duty cycle composed of 67% driving time and 33% PTO time, and 19% fuel improvement for the duty cycle with 50% driving time and 50% PTO time. The project confirmed the potential of this technology to reduce fuel consumption and GHG emissions, even though it was generally slightly below the 30% savings reported byhybrid truck manufacturers. The GHG reduction for these trucks was evaluated at between 2 to 5.4 tonnes, based on an annual distance in kilometres of 17,620 km, which corresponds to the average annual distance travelled by a medium-duty truck in the Province of Quebec (Canada). INTRODUCTION Hybrid trucks help make transportation more energy efficient and reduce GHG emissions. These trucks have been available on the market since the mid-2000s, and their numbers are increasing, especially for Class 6 and Class 7 trucks. Initially, hybrid technology only served for vehicle propulsion, but in recent years, it has been used for new functions, such as operating the PTO or providing electric current without having to idle the engine. Despite the roughly 30% fuel savings advertised by manufacturers, there are still impediments to using hybrid trucks, such as the additional costs for these trucks, along with questions from potential buyers regarding the trucks' operational capabilities and maintenance costs. The aim of this project was to evaluate in a reliable and impartial manner the energy performances of three Class 7 diesel-electric hybrid trucks, i.e. two pick-up and delivery trucks and one utility truck equipped with the ePTO (Engine- off Power-take-off) function. The project's phases were as follows: • Evaluation of hybrid trucks and conventional diesel trucks in actual operating conditions: this phase made it possible to collect data on the use of trucks by different drivers, and create a duty cycle for utility trucks that could be reproduced on a test track; • Fuel consumption tests on test track: the objective of this phase was to measure the fuel consumption of hybrid trucks Evaluation of Class 7 Diesel-Electric Hybrid Trucks2012-01-1987 Published 09/24/2012 Anthony Proust and Marius-Dorin Surcel FPINNOVATIONS Copyright © 2012 SAE International doi:10.4271/2012-01-1987Downloaded from SAE International by University of Minnesota, Tuesday, July 31, 2018and comparable conventional diesel trucks in controlled driving conditions. METHODOLOGY Hybrid Trucks Test Vehicles The hybrid technology in the trucks evaluated during this project is a parallel hybrid system from Eaton, which means that the electric motor can either power the truck