Renault Trucks, Volvo Trucks, Tesla, Nikola, Mercedes, Hyundai and BYD are relatively well-known manufacturers for their current and/or future offers in battery or hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks. French motorists are probably less familiar with Tevva, which designs and now produces for Europe its heavy goods vehicles across the Channel.
Two models
Based in Tilbury near London, Tevva starts a catalog of trendy trucks which has 2 very similar models. Difference ? One is a BEV, i.e. a battery electric vehicle. This is the TEV75B, unveiled in October 2021, and whose production has just started in the London area to deliver to European customers.
The second will be launched a little later in the year. Its name TEV75BH2 reveals that it embeds a hydrogen fuel cell. The latter will serve as a range extender. The 2 models therefore share a maximum of characteristics. Starting with the engine (2 motors on the rear axle) which delivers a maximum power of 192 kW (261 hp) for a torque of 596 Nm.
With LFP (lithium iron phosphate) chemistry for more stability and longer life, the energy capacity of the battery is 105 kWh. The value curiously rises to 112 kWh for the HP H2 version. The packs are housed on each side between the 2 axles. With a payload used at 50%, the autonomy of the TEV75B is announced with an average of 170 km, for a maximum of 227 km in the best conditions.
Thanks to the hydrogen fuel cell, these figures rise to 428 and 570 km respectively. The presence of the extender reduces the gross payload, which thus goes from 2,942 to 2,718 tons. Profiled so as not to block the air above the cabin, the transport box has been studied to weigh as little as possible on the autonomy.
Local tours
Major manufacturers of electric trucks are talking about direct current charging that could reach or exceed 1,000 kW soon, sometimes already offering the possibility of going beyond 350 kW. This is not at all the position of Tevva, which can be guessed with its 2 truck models. For local rounds and last mile delivery, there is no need for a large range or high charging power.
But from there to be satisfied with the endowment of the first Renault Zoé… The 2 models are actually just equipped for 22 kW AC charging. This allows you to regain a level of 90% energy in about 5 hours. This will of course be sufficient for certain operations on regular tours, for example.
However, the manufacturer made a point of going by road last September to the international trade show for commercial vehicles. Two examples of the TEV75B thus traveled by their own means, and in both directions, the 800 kilometers which separate London from Hanover, in Germany. ” We did what no other exhibitor at IAA Transportation would have dared », points out Tevva. Along the route, charging was done at prospects or on equipment set up in hotels for customers’ electric cars.
For further
For transporters who wish to travel far with an electric truck, the power of recharging is not the answer Tevva offers. But in the hydrogen range extender. It is interposed in height with its bottles, between the cabin and the transport box. Its characteristics are not yet on the technical sheet.
In about ten minutes, the tanks with a capacity of 9 kg of gas under a pressure of 350 bars are filled. Adopting the 700 bars would make it possible to benefit from an even better autonomy. However, the price of the truck would have been higher.
A predictive system communicating with the cloud automatically manages the range extender in real time according to the route to be taken and real external conditions such as the profile of the road, road traffic, weather. Added to this is the information provided by the driver.
Customer care
The turning radius is announced at 17.6 m, for a wheelbase of 4.815 m. With a width of 2.16 m not counting the mirrors, the maximum length of the TEV75B and TEV75BH2 is 8.73 m. It can thus transport up to 15 europallets.
For comfort, the driver has a seat mounted on suspensions, with armrest and lumbar support. Equipped with a digital screen, the trucks are equipped with various driving aids including ABS, ESP, hill start, lane departure warning, cruise control and speed limiter, etc.
For the H2 range extender version, Tevva thought of offering its services in order to define the best formula for refueling with hydrogen. The manufacturer has not made its price list public. But he proposes to get in touch with him to already discover his offer.
