Perpetual motion electric truck, transporting cargo with zero fuel costs

Hunt, J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1840-7277, Nascimento, A., Tong, W., Zakeri, B., Jurasz, J., Patro, E., Ðurin, B., de Jesus Pacheco, D.A., de Freitas, M.A.V., Filho, W.L., & Wada, Y. (2023). Perpetual motion electric truck, transporting cargo with zero fuel costs. Journal of Energy Storage 72 e108671. 10.1016/j.est.2023.108671.

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Abstract

The transportation sector is going through a rapid transition to electric vehicles to minimize our reliance on fossil fuels and reduce CO2 emissions. This is also happening in the cargo transport sector, with a rapid deployment of electric trucks. This paper proposes that the replacement of diesel trucks with electric trucks should first happen on routes where cargo is delivered from a location with a higher altitude to a location with a lower altitude. This way, the regenerative braking system of the truck can completely recharge the truck's battery. This paper investigates scenarios where electric trucks could operate indefinitely without grid electricity to charge their batteries. This concept was named perpetual motion electric truck (PMET). Results show that with an average road slope of 5 %, 60 km/h speed, the weight of the cargo should be at least 1.32 times the weight of the truck, PMET can be achieved. PMET is an interesting alternative to reduce electricity demand and increase the sustainability of the transport sector.

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