Olectra Meghaetron 28T 6×4 Electric Tipper: Pioneering ‘electric-heavy’ trucking
Olectra Meghaetron 28T electric tipper, hailed as India’s first homologated battery-electric heavy-duty tipper, boasts a driving range of 120-150 km and fast-charging capabilities.
Olectra Greentech has successfully completed the real-world trials of its ‘Meghaetron’ 28-tonner electric tipper that began last year. The manufacturer has also secured homologation certificate for the electric truck from ICAT recently for commercial launch in the Indian truck market.
With its proven mettle in the electric bus manufacturing and customer support, Olectra is now entering into electric trucks segment as well. The truck will be locally assembled at the company’s facility on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
The Meghaetron is built on the company’s heavy-duty electric tipper platform, which in turn is likely to be a reworked BYD Q3 chassis with an elongated wheelbase of 4,975 mm and a heavy-duty bogie rear suspension.
The electric truck comes with modern cabin and is available in rock and box load body options, meeting AIS 093 specification. IoT-enabled telematics with integrated vehicle tracking system is also on the list.
Battery system
At the heart of the Meghaetron 28T is its Lithium Iron-Phosphate(LFP) battery pack stacked on the either sides of the chassis’ main frame. The pack’s energy storage capacity is likely to be around 350 kWh.
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Olectra says that the battery pack is liquid-cooled and monitored by temperature sensors to prevent fires out of thermal runaway in extreme operational conditions. Energy regenerative at times of braking is also enabled.
Robust performance
With a rated max power of 362 hp (270 kW), the tipper delivers a peak torque of 2,400 Nm. It can clock a maximum speed of 80 kmph, with a driving range of 120-150 km in single charge.
The electric truck is equipped with heavy-duty semi-elliptical suspension up front, and supports a greadeability of up to 18 percent.
Olectra claims that its robust powertrain and related aggregates are highly reliable and, together with their running performance, offer faster turn-around time and superior TCO as against diesel tippers.
Charging capabilities
The electric tipper supports DC fast-charging system, which can support recharging of the vehicle’s battery pack in just 2-3 hours. Olectra is offering a high-power 180 kW CCS-2 dual-gun charger for the fleet operators for fast-charging.
Significance
Being the first mover in the heavy-duty electric trucking, Olectra is taking a big step in heralding a new era of zero-emission in the tipper segment. The Meghaetron is certainly an able contender to take on the reputation and practicality of diesel-powered tippers in its class with its fast-charging abilities and punchy performance.
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