Solectria Corp., Woburn, Mass., said its Hybrid Class 7 truck known as the "Super 7" successfully completed a cross-country demonstration tour that began in late July.

The "Super 7" truck traveled nearly 8,000 miles from coast to coast, traveling through the Midwest, down to Oklahoma and Texas and up the West Coast as far as Seattle, without incident. More than 200 industry professionals, representing original equipment manufacturers, potential engineering and manufacturing partners, and industry technology stakeholders evaluated and test-drove the truck during its cross-country trip.
Dean McGrew, Solectria's business development manager, said, "The 'Super 7' hybrid drive improves emissions and fuel economy over conventional drives, with no loss in performance or driveability. It pays for itself in less than three years as currently designed, and payback will improve as we optimize the system," he said.
The savings result from less fuel usage, lower brake maintenance, reduced starter wear/replacement, reduced battery usage/replacement, fewer engine operating hours, and less component overhaul. Track testing confirmed 35% fuel economy improvement over conventional delivery trucks, according to McGrew. Brake maintenance reduction is also significant because about 90% of the "Super 7" braking effort is electric, allowing energy to be stored for reuse. This was confirmed by drivers who rarely applied the mechanical brakes, controlling nearly all speed management with regenerative braking.
The Solectria "Super 7" consists of a two-motor drive system and ultracapacitive energy storage bank. The advantage to the ultracapacitor bank, McGrew said, is its ability to last the life of the vehicle, unlike most hybrid and electric vehicles requiring costly battery replacements. The engine/generator initially charges the ultracapacitors, then shuts off. The vehicle is launched in electric-only "series" mode whenever the ultracap state of charge permits and operates in "parallel" mode at energy efficient highway speeds. All electrical components are designed to last hundreds of thousands of miles with no maintenance.
Solectria is currently marketing the "Super 7" vehicle to multiple industry stakeholders and hopes to be able to demonstrate the vehicle's capability in real world fleet applications.
"We have many believers in the system's capability from the trip. Now we want fleet owners to experience "Super 7's" economic benefits to their bottom line," said McGrew.