Odyne vs. the Competition
Every day fleet executives must decide what is best for the future of their organization, while the fleet manager must decide how to make these decisions into reality. Odyne holds a unique capability in the plug-in hybrid truck market, as its partners are some of the largest final stage manufacturers of trucks in the nation. This enables a close collaboration between companies, which results in a highly integrated, modular hybrid system, packaged specifically for medium and heavy-duty truck applications. The synergies associated with Odyne and its partners greatly enhance the strength and technological capability of Odyne. 

With each purchase, a fleet manager looks for the field experience and quality of each potential hybrid truck. Odyne’s hybrid trucks were the first plug-in hybrid functional units deployed in the United States. With idle reduction, propulsion assist and regenerative braking, the plug-in hybrid system enables domestically produced energy from the electric grid to power the battery. In turn, this operates hydraulics, climate controls and exportable power (reducing petroleum use). To date, our hybrid truck competitors cannot offer a plug-in hybrid truck with the field experience, features and low cost of an Odyne system.

Not only is field experience a factor, but customers want assurance the equipment will run as smoothly as the standard equipment operators are used to. Odyne’s hybrid design does not modify the chassis original drivetrain and no modification is made to the OEM’s transmission or engine. The hybrid system interfaces through a unique power take off (PTO), providing a parallel hybrid system. Because there are no changes to the OEM equipment, the equipment is still operable even with a hybrid truck malfunction. Other hybrid system manufacturers replace a chassis’s conventional transmission and driveline with a new hybrid hydraulic powertrain.

An underlying issue with all equipment, hybrid or not, is the cost of diesel or gasoline fuel. Fleets have a difficult time budgeting for fuel as costs can change day to day. A benefit of the Odyne plug-in hybrid system is the ability to power the truck with off-peak electrical grid energy. In essence, the hybrid truck uses electric energy from the power grid to recharge the vehicle batteries after a full day of operation. The cost of electrical energy is less expensive, but also less volatile. Each hybrid truck has the ability to charge through a charging station, especially developed for the Odyne hybrid system. Following SAE protocol, the station is essentially an intelligent switch. The power is not on while the chord is be handled by the operator, once it is plugged in, the charge port on the hybrid truck communicates with the charging station to begin the charge process. The hybrid truck is disabled as long as it is plugged in and the station performs a ground fault test continuously. In addition, the station looks for current leaks from the chassis and the ground. When the hybrid truck has completed charging the batteries the power turns off to conserve energy. The charging station is capable of storing vehicle charge data for analysis or troubleshooting to assist in any tracking a fleet may want to develop. While using a charge station is the best option, the unit is able to charge from the vehicle engine for an extended workday or if the garage is not readily available.  

Many fleets have trucks that number in the hundreds, so fleet managers often want to know, “Can I convert one of my current units to a plug-in hybrid truck?” Odyne’s hybrid power system retrofits easily to offer extensive benefits. Conversion of medium duty trucks already “in use” can have an enormous multiplying effect on petroleum fuel reduction and greenhouse gas reduction benefits, at an accelerated pace. Through a combination of idle reduction, launch assist and regenerative braking, each retrofit should generate fuel savings of approximately 50% (or up to about 1,750 gallons per year, per vehicle). This corresponds to about 15 - 22 tons of CO2 greenhouse gas emissions reductions, per year, per truck (along with significant reductions in criteria pollutants such as NOx and PM10). While some competitors are able to offer a retrofit to operate a boom lift, none of them can offer a offer a hybrid truck, complete with launch assist and regenerative braking.