California start-up unveils autonomous electric truck with 800km-plus range

California start-up Solo AVT has unveiled its SD1, a long-haul battery-electric Class 8 truck designed specifically for autonomous driving with a range in excess of 800-kilometres.

Solo Advanced Vehicle Technologies (Solo AVT), which was founded just eight months ago in September 2021, unveiled its SD1 autonomous electric truck earlier this month as part of its stated aim of “revolutionising the freight transportation industry”.

The SD1 boasts the lowest drag coefficient of any Class 8 truck on the road thanks to a complete redesign that removes the need for an onboard human and incorporates aerospace-level system redundancy.

Featuring highly efficient and multi-speed tandem e-axles with integrated 600kW electric motors, the SD1 features a range in excess of 800km (500+ miles) and industry-leading aerodynamics designed to reduce draft while increasing range.

Similarly, the SD1 incorporates a range of technological innovations, including active aerodynamics, tires specifically designed to minimise rolling resistance, exterior lighting used to communicate with pedestrians and other roads users, a unique sound signature, and a modular design for greater serviceability and maximum uptime.

Solo AVT also claims that its SD1 will deliver turn-around times on par with today’s trucks and compatibility with fast chargers and existing networks.

The SD1 is also trailer-agnostic, meaning that it can haul virtually anything, and is built to integrate with all standard loading docks. Similarly, and as expected, the SD1 is built to haul an equivalent weight to today’s Class 8 trucks.

Meanwhile, a comprehensive sensor arrangement allows for easy integration of any autonomous driver system and also features a proprietary software control interfaces.

“The debut of our SD1 design is the next step in our journey towards decarbonizing the freight industry,” said Graham Doorley, founder and CEO, Solo Advanced Vehicle Technologies.

“We look forward to being the step change this massive industry needs as we develop innovative technologies to deliver a battery-electric long-haul Class 8 truck with over 500 miles of range.

“The demands on leaders across freight, logistics, retail, and other categories can only be met in a sustainable way by the convergence of two tech-enabled opportunities: battery-electric transportation at long-haul range and autonomy.

“Autonomous systems today won’t work on existing or retrofit platforms at scale. At Solo AVT we’re solving both of these challenges as we develop, design, and engineer the SD1 to achieve over 500 miles of range with an autonomous truck from day one.”