Mack Trucks pulled back the curtain Jan. 9 on the first working Mack LR Electric, a fully electric version of the LR refuse model first revealed in May 2019. The truck will be delivered to the New York City Department of Sanitation's Brooklyn North 1 garage before the end of January, where it will undergo real-world testing and evaluation on several selected collection routes.

Validation testing is scheduled to begin in in the second quarter.

"The Mack LR Electric demonstrates Mack’s leadership in powertrain innovation, bringing clean, quiet propulsion to the refuse application, which is one of the toughest in heavy-duty trucking due to the harsh operating environments and number of starts and stops during a shift," said Jonathan Randall, Mack Trucks senior vice president, North American sales and marketing. 

DSNY is the world’s largest sanitation department, collecting more than 12,000 tons of refuse and recyclables each day throughout five boroughs with 6,300 miles of streets and a population of about 8.6 million people. Roughly 99% of DSNY's heavy-duty collection fleet is Mack equipment.

“New York City has a goal to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions 80% by the year 2035," said Rocky DiRico, DSNY deputy commissioner. "DSNY along with our more than 6,000 vehicles will play a major role as we push toward that goal."

The department is looking at a variety of technologies and will be the first Mack customer to test the LR Electric model. DSNY will evaluate several vehicle performance metrics, including operating range, payload capacity, regenerative braking performance, and the overall functionality of a fully electric refuse vehicle in its operation.

Randall told reporters a second Mack LR Electric vehicle is in development and will be delivered to Republic Systems in North Carolina later this year. 

During the demonstration at the Mack Customer Center in Allentown, Pa., the Mack LR Electric was piloted around a test course set up on Mack’s test track and skid-pad, which simulated the real-world stop-and-go driving found in refuse applications. The test course also featured tight turns and an area to reverse the vehicle, highlighting the truck’s maneuverability.

Powered by Mack’s integrated electric powertrain, the Mack LR Electric features two 130-kW motors that deliver a combined 496 peak horsepower and 4,051 lb.-ft. of torque available from zero rpm. A two-speed Mack Powershift transmission harnesses that power and puts it to the ground through Mack’s proprietary S522R 52,000-pound rear axles.

The truck features four NMC lithium-ion batteries (Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide) that are charged via a 50-kW, SAE J1772-compliant charging system. All accessories on the Mack LR Electric model are electrically driven through 12-, 24-, and 600-volt circuits.