Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - February 2022 - 4

TECHNICAL
INNOVATIONS
ELECTRIFICATION
Volta announces 'engineering kickoff' of smaller
electric trucks
SAE INTERNATIONAL
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Srinivasa (Sri) Srinath, Ph.D
President
Todd Zarfos
2023 President
Jeff Hemphill
2021 President
Susan Ying, Ph.D
Vice President - Aerospace
Daniel Nicholson
Vice President - Automotive
Volta's Zero trucks have been designed by the company's partner, Astheimer Design, in Warwick, UK.
Volta Trucks has confirmed additional variants
of its Zero line of commercial electric vehicles.
The new models will be 7.5- and 12-tonne versions
of the company's existing 16-t truck.
Volta states that a design concept has been
selected and that both vehicles have entered
the engineering phase of development.
The first prototype Volta Zero was launched
in September 2020 and debuted in its production-ready
form in November 2021. That truck
was a 16-t model powered by a 150-225 kWh
battery with a stated range of 90-125 miles (145200
km). These smaller and lower tonnage
models are intended to expand Volta's lineup to
serve a wider range of uses and customers.
" The full-electric 16-tonne Volta Zero is our first
vehicle and the heart of our brand. But when designing
that truck, we knew that we'd need to
scale the innovative packaging and cab concept
to accommodate different size vehicles, " said Ian
Collins, chief product officer of Volta Trucks. " Our
customers tell us that they appreciate the safety
and zero-emission operations offered by the
16-tonne Volta Zero, but also need those positive
attributes in smaller 7.5- and 12-tonne vehicles,
and they need them quickly. "
Volta's Zero trucks have been designed by the
company's partner, Astheimer Design, in
Warwick, UK. The smaller trucks reportedly will
share a " close but evolutionary " exterior and
interior design with the existing 16-t vehicle. The
smaller models also will carry over the same
interior ergonomics as the 16-t model, which
features a low and centralized seating position.
Volta also has confirmed that the Zero will
feature integrated navigation services from
HERE Technologies. The system will be designed
to assist with route planning for urban
deliveries and include software to find the most
efficient routes, real-time traffic updates and
turn-by-turn voice guidance. The system
will feature geolocation technology via what3words,
which will navigate to destinations via a
grid location rather than a street address.
The engineering development of the 7.5- and
12-tonne vehicles will take place in the UK. A tarMichael
Weinert
Vice President -
Commercial Vehicle
Andrew Jeffers
Treasurer
David L. Schutt, Ph.D
Chief Executive Officer
Gregory L. Bradley, Esq.
Secretary
Judy Curran
Rhonda Walthall
Joan Wills
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or contact SAE Member Relations Specialist
Abby Hartman at abby.hartman@sae.org.
SAE International
The Zero will
feature integrated
navigation from HERE
Technologies, which
uses geolocation
technology via
what3words
to navigate to
destinations via a grid
location rather than a
street address.
4 February 2022
Collegiate Chapters
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International Student Members to get
together on their campus and develop
skills in a student-run and -elected
environment. Student Members are vital
to the continued success and future of
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you the engineering knowledge you
need, participation in your SAE Collegiate
Chapter can develop or enhance other
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more information, please visit students.
sae.org/chapters/collegiate/ or contact
SAE Member Relations Specialist Abby
Hartman at abby.hartman@sae.org.
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
BOTH IMAGES: VOLTA TRUCKS

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Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - February 2022

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