<\/p>\n
Trucking is big business in the US, but it relies on pricey fuel that produces a lot of planet-warming emissions. Electric trucks are an obvious answer, however\u00a0their sticker price is two or more times as expensive as traditional freight trucks.<\/p>\n
Even if the cost were to fall, it would take time to replace existing rigs.<\/p>\n
Robotics startup Revoy thinks it has a solution to allow any truck to go electric for part of its journey. The San Francisco-based\u00a0company has built a detachable unit with an electric motor and batteries that sits between the truck\u2019s tractor and trailer.<\/p>\n
It\u00a0has just raised $27 million\u00a0in a Series A round to scale up its operations.<\/p>\n
On a full charge, Revoy\u2019s electric dolly can lug an 80 000-pound truck for more than 200 miles. The company\u2019s dream is to eventually build out a network of hubs along roadways, where truckers could swap in a fresh device.<\/p>\n
Revoy estimates that the unit can reduce carbon emissions by as much as 85%.<\/p>\n
Read: The future of EV charging looks a lot like an airport lounge<\/p>\n
Revoy CEO Peter Reinhardt. Image: Manuel Orbegozo\/Bloomberg<\/p>\n
\u201cOur technology allows you to compete with diesel at cost, which is not true yet for other electric trucks in the US,\u201d said Peter Reinhardt, chief executive officer of Revoy.<\/p>\n
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The cost to operate Revoy\u2019s system would be equivalent to powering a truck with diesel, based on prices before the US war with\u00a0Iran, according to Reinhardt, who is also CEO of carbon-removal company Charm Industrial Inc.<\/p>\n
The average retail price of diesel in the US remains about 40% above the pre-war level of about\u00a0$3.80 per gallon.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Revoy would extend the life of existing diesel freight trucks, a different proposition than the fully electric heavy-duty trucks on sale from manufacturers including Tesla Inc and Volvo AB.<\/p>\n
Sales of those vehicles in the US in the first half of this year were lower than the same period last year despite higher diesel prices, according to BloombergNEF.<\/p>\n
Sales may increase in the second half with Tesla reporting a pipeline of 1 200 orders in May, the researcher said in a June report, citing data from a California voucher programme.<\/p>\n
Read: Tesla\u2019s profit slides as spending climbs to meet Musk\u2019s AI goals<\/p>\n
The new entrants are going after a freight truck market with revenue of about $900 billion in 2024, according to the American Trucking Association.<\/p>\n
The 3 million registered heavy-duty trucks in the US together drive about 60,000 miles a year, generating roughly 300 million tons of carbon dioxide, or about 6% of US annual emissions, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Fuel makes up more than one-fifth of owners\u2019 operating costs.<\/p>\n
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Revoy\u2019s idea is a good starting point to address the rising cost of trucking and make it cleaner, said Nikolas Soulopoulos, head of commercial transport at BloombergNEF.<\/p>\n
\u201cSlotting into the existing fleet is a big advantage,\u201d Soulopoulos said, adding a caveat: Scaling up manufacturing of these electric dollies in the US won\u2019t be easy, in part due to battery supply constraints.<\/p>\n
The choice of manufacturing outside the US is limited\u00a0because of the high tariffs that the current government has deployed.<\/p>\n
Revoy was founded in 2020 and received regulatory approval from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2023. The following year, it ran a successful yearlong technical pilot with freight company Ryder System Inc.<\/p>\n
A truck fitted with a Revoy plug-in device travels in Indio, California. Image: Ethan Noah Roy\/Bloomberg<\/p>\n
A truck driver reconnects the brake, park and electric cables to the Revoy plug-in device from the semi truck during a demonstration. Image: Ethan Noah Roy\/Bloomberg<\/p>\n
For its first commercial operation, the startup\u2019s partners have bought second-hand diesel trucks and Revoy is training their drivers to use the electric dollies.<\/p>\n
Revoy will start using four electric dollies, which the company assembled using Chinese components, on a 200-mile stretch near Portland, Oregon, later this year.<\/p>\n
With the new funding, Revoy is planning to assemble a less expensive second-generation electric dolly with a smaller battery offering the same range. The company hopes to have dozens\u00a0of dollies\u00a0in operation by the end of next year.<\/p>\n
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In total, Revoy has raised $41 million.\u00a0The latest funding round was led by Standard Capital, with additional investors including Doerr Capital, Time Ventures, Y Combinator and Leap Ventures.<\/p>\n
Revoy\u2019s technology is an application of robotics, said Ian Rust, chief technology officer and founder, who previously worked at the self-driving startup Cruise, which was acquired\u00a0by General Motors Co.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of removing the driver, we\u2019re using robotics to switch the fuel source,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Revoy CTO Ian Rust. Image: Manuel Orbegozo\/Bloomberg<\/p>\n
Rust took inspiration from the field of collaborative robotics, which has, among other inventions, given birth to robotic exoskeletons that can help humans lift several times the weight their biological muscles alone would allow.<\/p>\n
The electric dolly follows the same principle. When the driver hits the accelerator pedal, the diesel engine revs up and causes the truck to lurch forward.<\/p>\n
At that instant, the dolly gets the signal to power up batteries and an electric motor, which then causes the diesel engine to stop firing as hard. Similarly, when the driver applies the brake, the electric dolly starts using the reversing of the electric motor to charge the battery.<\/p>\n
Revoy is currently focused on the US, but Rust hopes\u00a0the technology could eventually be applied globally.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2026 Bloomberg<\/p>\n
#diesel #freight #truck #electric #plugin #device<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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