Posted on Sustainabilitank.info on December 23rd, 2009
by Pincas Jawetz (PJ@SustainabiliTank.com)
Tuesday December 22, 2009, having returned from Copenhagen, my first meeting here in New York, related to advanced electric trucks about which I already heard in Copenhagen from Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa.
Mark Townsend Cox, Chris Huntington, and Yehuda Magid of newenergyfundlp.com arranged for an event with Balwinder Samra of Balqon.com in a room on the third floor of Bill’s Gay Nineties on East 54 Street in Manhattan – the original speakeasy from the 1890′s, and we sat there at a long table supervised from above us by no the less then Mr. Florenz Ziegfeld.
Mr. Samra is since 2005 the President and CEO of the Balqon Corporation, headquartered at 1420 240th Street, Harbor City, California 90710.
As he told me, already in 1994, he ran his first electric vehicles in Roskilde, Denmark, and I found that he is a mechanical engineer from Panjab University with a year training and study in motor-vehicles in Japan, with work on electric vehicles since 1990. In the US, prior to Balqon, 2003 – 2005, he was with EVI (Electric Vehicles International) headquartered at Stockton California – a company backed by Governor Schwarzenegger that was also mentioned in Copenhagen.
Mr. Samra showed us three models of Class 7 and 8 Electric trucks and tractors – the XE20, the XE30, and the M150.
Mark Cox, in introducing Balqon, spoke of Battery Solutions, and a New Energy headstart, and wants the vehicles to be zero emission and use only electricity from renewable sources. He clearly frowns at nuclear power. He also mentioned a series of reasons for the change to electric mobility – such as – climate, health, reliability, inflation, geopolitics, depletion …
The Balqons are already running at the Marine Terminal in Los Angeles and will be put in further use like in soft drinks distribution.
Robert J. Miranda is the Chief Financial Officer and a high capacity investor joined in 2006. The booklet I got includes the forms that were submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on September 30, 2009, and the room was filled with prospective potential investors. Also, this year the vehicle design was changed to incorporate Lithium batteries. They manufacture the engines in Los Angeles.
It is now all about technology, local manufacturing, and local politics. The market now in LA, for the Ports and in Warehouses, Inner City Delivery, Beverage Delivery, Trash Hauling, is 14,000 vehicles.
Further, the nature of the electric engine is that there is no maintenance work on the engine!
He also said in answer to a question that labor hours for making a truck – 120 hours.
The vehicle leaves Balqon with a 2 years bumper-to-bumper warranty. The charger is a 15 Kw to be plugged anywhere. He does not believe in hybrid technology or fuel cells.
Asked about if they received any grants – he said that a 500,000 grant from a private source and a 400,000 grant from the Port of LA.
Talking about bureaucracy paper work – he said that even though clearly this is a zero emissions vehicle – they still have to submit each vehicle to emissions lab tests. That sounds shocking, and I wonder what is done when you cannot find an emissions tail pipe? What politics could help explain this to officials?
For further information and pictures – please look up www.balqon.com
Also the following press release:
ttp://www.portoflosangeles.org/newsroom/…
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Theresa Adams Lopez
(310) 732-3507
MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA DRIVES FIRST HEAVY-DUTY, ELECTRIC PORT DRAYAGE TRUCK OFF THE ASSEMBLY LINE AT NEW HARBOR CITY FACTORY
Mayor and City Officials Tour New Balqon Corp. Factory, Where A New Green-Collar Workforce Will Build the Zero-Emission Cargo Container Haulers
SAN PEDRO, Calif. — February 24, 2009 — Los Angeles’ green technology sector takes a heavy-duty roll this week with the grand opening of a manufacturing facility in Harbor City that will begin producing fleets of clean, all-electric, heavy-duty trucks capable of hauling 30-ton shipping containers in and around the San Pedro Bay port complex.
Today, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joined a host of city and business officials at an assembly-line ceremony that celebrated the creation of a growing number of new “green collar” jobs and the important role this new breed of green machines could play in reducing harmful tailpipe emissions in Southern California and elsewhere. Officials present at the Harbor City event included Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn, Los Angeles Harbor Commission President S. David Freeman, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Geraldine Knatz, Ph.D., and Balqon Corp. CEO Balwinder Samra.
“Los Angeles is laying the foundation of a sustainable economy by investing in clean technology and green jobs,” Mayor Villaraigosa said. “Bringing Balqon to L.A. represents a giant leap in our effort to develop the clean technology industry of tomorrow.”
“We are proud to be the first port in the world to develop and put into service these groundbreaking electric trucks,” said Harbor Commission President S. David Freeman. “They are a triple winner: cleaner, lower cost and quiet. They don’t generate the harmful tailpipe emissions that plague our air quality here in Southern California.”
“The support and collaboration we received from the Port and City of Los Angeles enabled us to develop, test and now move into production with a first-of-its-kind, heavy-duty electric truck in less than two years’ time,” said Balqon Corp. President and CEO, Balwinder Samra. “This is the kind of smart approach that is putting Los Angeles and its port at the forefront of ‘clean tech’ efforts that will benefit regional air and regional business.”
An initiative of the Port’s Clean Air Action Plan, the development and demonstration of the Balqon electric truck was co-funded by the Port and South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) at a total cost of $527,000. Designed specifically for short-haul or “drayage” operations, this heavy-duty truck can pull a 60,000-pound cargo container at a top speed of 40 mph, and has a range between 30 to 60 miles per battery charge. The battery charger can charge up to four electric trucks simultaneously in four hours and can also provide up to 60 percent of the charge in one hour to meet peak demands during daily operations.
Click here for more background and technical information about the electric truck.
Following the successful completion of cargo terminal tests during 2008 of the demonstration Balqon truck, the Los Angeles Harbor Commission approved the purchase of 20 electric trucks from the manufacturer as part of the “green terminal” program. These trucks will be deployed as a zero emissions alternative to fossil fuel-powered yard tractors, or “hostlers.” Currently, fleets of thousands of hostlers — which are mostly diesel vehicles and a small number of Liquefied Natural Gas test units — move thousands of containers a day between the Port’s docks and terminal backland. They could eventually be replaced by electric vehicles.
The green terminal program will also include the production of five on-road electric trucks. Balqon will work with the Port and Department of Transportation to obtain the appropriate certification for on-road use. In total, the Port is investing more than $5.6 million to demonstrate the viability of electric drayage trucks.
As a partial consideration of the Port providing the first sizeable production order with Balqon, the company will provide a royalty payment to the Port for each vehicle it sells or leases worldwide.
Energy and Emissions Savings
On a kilowatt hour of energy cost-basis, this electric truck costs roughly 20 cents a mile to operate. On a per-mile cost-basis, a common diesel truck could cost anywhere from four to nine times as much, depending on fluctuating fuel costs and actual duty-cycle activity (100 percent duty cycle equals zero percent truck idling).
Future widespread application of a fleet of electric trucks would be especially useful at the Port of Los Angeles because, on an annual basis, more than two million truck drayage trips take place between the port terminals and rail and warehouse facilities within five to ten miles of San Pedro Bay.
An overall calculation of net emissions reductions still needs to be performed to take into account the emissions created in the generation of electric power used to charge the truck’s batteries. However, based on the average emissions generated by the existing fleet of drayage trucks that serve the San Pedro Bay ports, Port of Los Angeles staff estimated the average pollution discharge generated by the estimated 1.2 million truck trips that occurred in 2006 between the ports and a local near-dock railyard (the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility or ICTF). If those 1.2 million truck trips were to be made with zero emission electric trucks, an estimated 35,605.6 tons of tailpipe emissions would be eliminated, including: 21.8 tons per year of Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM), 427.7 tons per year of localized Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions, 168.5 tons per year of Carbon (CO), and 34,987.6 tons per year of Carbon Dioxide (CO2).
Related Links about the Electric Truck
- News Release (May 16, 2008)
- YouTube Video
- Technical Specs/Fact Sheet
- Manufacturer Website: www.balqon.com. Balqon Corporation’s common stock is eligible for trading on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol “BLQN”. Founded in May 2005, Balqon Corporation has a manufacturing facility in Harbor City, California.
About the Port of Los Angeles
The Port of Los Angeles, also known as “America’s Port,” has a strong commitment to developing innovative strategic and sustainable operations that benefit the economy and the quality of life for the region and the nation it serves. A recipient of numerous environmental awards, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2007 Clean Air Excellence Award, the Port of Los Angeles is committed to innovating cleaner, greener ways of doing business. As the leading seaport in North America in terms of shipping container volume and cargo value, the Port generates 919,000 regional jobs and $39.1 billion in annual wages and tax revenues. A proprietary department of the City of Los Angeles, the Port is self-supporting and does not receive taxpayer dollars. The Port of Los Angeles – A cleaner port. A brighter future.
NEWS
balqon.com, balqon” href=”http://www.zibb.com/article/5726126/Balqon+Corporation+CEO+Balwinder+Samra+Interviewed+on+Bloomberg+Television+s+Taking+Stock+with+Pimm+Fox” target=”_blank”>Balqon Corporation CEO Balwinder Samra Interviewed on Bloomberg Television’s “Taking Stock” with Pimm Fox
11-12-2009 Zibbbalqon.com, balqon”>Balqon Corporation (OTCBB:BLQN), an emerging developer and manufacturer of zero emissions heavy-duty electric vehicles for Class 7 and Class 8 applications, announced today that President and CEO, Balwinder Samra, appeared as a guest on Bloomberg Television’s “Taking Stock”.10-12-2009 CNBCDean Marks, of Premier Power Renewable Energy, and Balwinder Samra, of Balqon, discuss whether green technology will stimulate job…22-10-2009 SilobreakerA startup EV manufacturer from Southern California has developed a battery-electric delivery truck with swappable batteries. Balqon Corporation, based in Harbor City, CA, unveiled the Mule M150 for Class 7 and Class 8 short-haul freight transit.10-10-2009 eXaminer.comPhoto courtesy Balqon Corporation Port facilities today have a flurry of trucks involved with unloading containers from ships and driving them a short distance for delivery.7-10-2009 RBC Dain Rauscher Inc. (fka Dain Rausche)U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson came to Long Beach last week to announce $26.5 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 allocated for the Southern California area.2-10-2009 trucks world news (Blog)Santa Ana,CAL,USA -TG Daily -October 01, 2009: — The Balqon Corporation said it has released a battery powered heavy duty truck for use on short haul missions.1-10-2009 Press-TelegramPhoto Gallery: Schwarzenegger at the port Port authorities received $6 million in federal stimulus money Thursday to spur continued replacement and retrofitting of soot-spewing diesel equipment blamed for contributing to some 5,000 premature deaths annually in communities surrounding San Pedro Bay.1-10-2009 AutoblogBalqon has taken advantage of the Governors Global Climate Summit to launch the monster truck that finally rounds out its range; the Mule150. We’re talking serious Class 7 truck action here.1-10-2009 Transport & Logistics NewsBalqon Corporation, an emerging developer and manufacturer of zero emissions heavy-duty electric vehicles, has announced the release of its lithium-ion battery powered heavy-duty electric truck designed for short-haul applications.
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