WRIGHTSPEED DELIVERS NATURAL GAS TURBINE-ELECTRIC VEHICLES TO FEDEX

On Monday, Wrightspeed announced delivery of its turbine-electric medium duty Route system to its first customer, FedEx. The Route is a “repower” powertrain system that replaces a truck’s diesel engine, transmission and differential. The Route’s electric drive, which also can be plugged in, employs a turbine generator to charge batteries as needed on the road and can run on natural gas or traditional liquid fuels. FedEx has deployed both CNG and diesel versions of Wrightspeed’s technology. Both versions significantly surpass California Air Resources Board’s emissions standards. “We tend to think of pure battery electric vehicles as the cleanest vehicle technology available, and that used to be true,” says Wrightspeed marketing manager, Maya Giannini. “However, our onboard generator burns cleaner per kWh than the average mix of U.S. electric power plants, making Wrightspeed’s products cleaner than an EV.”