PVI designed the vehicles to achieve comparable performance to conventional refuse trucks with a maximum speed of 70 km/h (43.5 mph) at full payload, with the added benefit of 100% starting torque. Drivers will be able to collect a payload of 16 tons in two rounds of service. The modular plug-in battery pack was also designed to be interchangeable or accommodate a partial recharge between two daily service rounds, thus doubling performance capabilities.

With PVI’s integrated gearbox kinematics, the truck will be able to climb steep inclines with a full payload without impeding urban traffic.

Dow Kokam will supply each truck with a complete battery system containing five strings of seven battery packs (equivalent to 250 kWh), power management capability and the complete battery management system. The battery systems are assembled in France at the production facility of Le Bouchet (Vert-le-Petit, Essonne).

PVI selected Dow Kokam’s large-format, flat-cell battery system because of its 10-year usable life and energy density: 140 Wh/kg of specific energy. The advanced liquid cooled lithium ion battery packs and thermal management of the Dow Kokam system extend the system’s lifetime, and enable the vehicles to be used in very diverse operating temperatures from the far northern areas of Europe to the very south.

The ability to introduce a completely electric truck of this size that doesn’t sacrifice performance or power is due to PVI’s extensive history in vehicle electrification and the selection of Dow Kokam’s advanced lithium polymer battery system technology, which provides ready solutions to meet the high performance needs of working trucks operating daily in urban environments.

—Michel Bouton, CEO of PVI

Electrification of all powertrain elements of the trucks and the mechanical elements for collecting refuse bins allow for significantly reduced noise pollution, zero local emissions and no idling during inactive periods.

PVI specializes in developing and manufacturing small and medium-sized series of industrial vehicles for transport and urban works. Dow Kokam was established in 2009 to develop and manufacture advanced energy storage technologies for the transportation and other industries. The company is owned by The Dow Chemical Company, TK Advanced Battery LLC and Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault.