HD Hyundai Infracore (HDI) is set to debut a new, 35 kWh lithium phosphate battery pack to power the next generation of electrified commercial equipment.
While the new HD Hyundai lithium phosphate battery isn’t technically out yet (it will officially bow at Intermat 2024 at Paris-Nord Villepinte next month), the battery pack has been in development since back when Infracore was still a Doosan brand.
As of 2021, the first prototypes of the battery were configured with bespoke battery management system (BMS) and thermal protection systems, as well as a flexible design architecture that allows the manufacturer to produce batteries with different voltages and capacities by using different numbers of standardized cylindrical nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) battery cells (that’s actually an NCM pack shown, at top).
The OG Doosan
Different versions of the Infracore battery have been in used in the company’s 1.7 ton mini electric excavators since 2023. And they’re not alone. HD Hyundai currently offers LFP battery packs in 5.8, 8.8 and 11.7 kWh power capacities – but these news ones that are set to bow are expected to be much bigger.
Like, “big enough to power a commercial truck,” bigger.
The official HDI release cites data from market research platform, Markets and Markets, that projects the global electric commercial vehicle market to grow from the 529,400 units sold in 2023 to more than 2.1 million units by 2030.
The new battery packs are intended to, “offer a value-oriented and robust solution for companies operating in the construction, industrial and marine sectors,” according to Power Progress (formerly Diesel Progress). We’ll have more when Hyundai lifts the veil in Paris.
Construction companies like Caterpillar and Deere should would do well to learn the lesson Toyota and Honda learned the hard way in the 90s: underestimate the Koreans at your peril.
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These are the first-ever electric trucks in the company’s ocean freight operations, also known as drayage operations. They’ve already started hitting the road at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, with a dozen expected to be in service by the end of the year.
“We’re proud to launch our largest fleet of electric heavy-duty vehicles yet in California,” said Udit Madan, vice president of Worldwide Amazon Operations. “Heavy-duty trucking is a particularly difficult area to decarbonize, which makes us all the more excited to have these vehicles on the road today. We’ll use what we learn from deploying these vehicles as we continue to identify and invest in solutions to reduce emissions in our transportation network, and to impact sustainability in the trucking industry more broadly.”
Amazon picks Volvo VNR Electric semi
Amazon’s electric semi of choice this time is the Volvo VNR Electric. These class 8 trucks have a range of up to 275 miles with a gross combined vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 82,000 pounds. The heavy-duty Volvo trucks ship with a number of safety features that will be familiar to Volvo Car owners, including active collision mitigation, blind-spot detection, lane departure warning, lane keeping assist, and adaptive cruise control.
Altogether, the Volvo VNRs Amazon just added to its fleet are projected to travel more than 1 million miles each year with zero harmful carbon and diesel particulate emissions coming out of their exhaust pipes.
Electrek’s Take
On the one hand, Amazon is making a big deal out of buying electric drayage trucks – which isn’t really big a deal in 2024, since that’s a legal requirement at this point. You literally can’t buy a new, internal combustion drayage truck in California as of this year.
That said, I’m a “celebrate every positive change” kind of guy, and the people who live and work around Amazon’s operations will be literally and figuratively breathing easier with these trucks in operation. As such, I’m willing to give California Governor Gavin Newsom a victory lap.
“California continues to lead the way in setting world-leading climate goals. No other state has created the kind of environment where Amazon and other businesses can lead on sustainability and take major steps forward like deploying this fleet of electric trucks,” said Gavin, in a statement. “California’s climate action continues powering our economy and creating jobs.”
The auto research portal says that’s a $50 drop in the monthly payment with $2,050 less required at signing. As a result, the effective cost fell $126, from $547 per month to $421 before taxes & fees.
The Polestar 2 Dual Motor – list price $55,300 – is a much better deal to lease than the Single Motor model – list price $49,900 – because amazingly, they have the same lease price. That’s basically a free upgrade to the Dual Motor model.
The Polestar 2 first made its debut in 2019 as the automaker’s first fully electric car. It launched in mid-2020 and the milestone 150,000th car rolled off the assembly line in August 2023.
The Polestar 2 is expected to be phased out in 2027, and company says the Polestar 7 will succeed it.
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