Chicago to Buy 20 Electric Refuse Trucks

CHICAGO - The City of Chicago plans to purchase 20 electric refuse trucks from Motiv Power Systems for $13.4 million. Each vehicle is a Class 8 truck with a range of 60 miles.

by Staff

November 21, 2012

1 min to read

The EV refuse trucks Chicago is acquiring will use the electric Powertrain Control System (ePCS) system featured in Motiv’s bus pilot vehicle, but will feature a larger motor and 10 battery packs that provide energy storage of up to 200 kWh.

CHICAGO - The City of Chicago plans to purchase 20 electric refuse trucks from Motiv Power Systems for $13.4 million. Each vehicle is a Class 8 truck with a range of 60 miles.

According to Motiv, the EV refuse trucks that Chicago is acquiring will use the electric Powertrain Control System (ePCS) system featured in Motiv’s bus pilot vehicle, but will feature a larger motor and 10 battery packs that provide energy storage of up to 200 kWh.

Motiv’s original 20-passenger bus pilot vehicle came with five battery packs (125 kWh of energy storage) and has a range of 120 miles on a single charge.

The EV refuse trucks will also use an electric motor to drive the hydraulics system, and will weigh 52,000 lbs. The company’s CEO Jim Castelaz said the batteries can be swapped out if the City wants to add newer ones in the future as battery technology improves.

Motiv said it’s working with Detroit Chassis to install the ePCS system and that Loadmaster is providing the truck bodies for the vehicles.

Topics:Motiv Power Systems Battery-Electric Vehicles City of Chicago Green Fleet

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