An offshoot of Japanese industrial giant Mitsubishi has unveiled a new lineup of electrically powered transport refrigeration units developed specifically for electric trucks.
Refrigeration units are not necessarily the sexiest of electrification news stories, but they are a core component of decarbonising freight transportation. And as electric trucks become more prominent on roads around the world, transport refrigeration units (TRUs) need to be adaptable to varied mounting constraints so as to flexibly accommodate various electric truck battery installations.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thermal Systems (MHI Thermal Systems) has previously launched the Preciso range of all-electric transport refrigeration series for use on commercial vehicles.
MHI Thermal Systems has now developed the new TEU series for the Preciso brand, designed specifically for electric trucks and relying on a modular structure to achieve both compactness and weight reduction.
TRUs come in several different forms, including those mounted on the nose of the refrigeration container, on the front of semi-trailer units, and mounted underneath.
The new TEU series is mounted underneath and separates the main components of the refrigeration unit – the condenser, evaporator and compressor – into the smallest possible compact modules, making it easily installed on a variety of electric trucks regardless of fitting constraints.
The main unit size of the TEU series has been reduced by around 30 per cent by volume compared to conventional sub-engine trailer units, requiring a 40 per cent smaller opening width and area, and boasts a 55 per cent reduction in weight.
And, given that it is designed to be installed on battery electric trucks, the compact and lightweight structure of the TEU series is paired with lightweight and high-capacity batteries, helping it contribute to improved electric driving range by minimising additional weight.
The new TRUs offer high refrigeration capacity suitable for large trucks thanks to an “economizer cycle”, a configuration in which a portion of the unit’s refrigerant is branched, used to cool the main refrigerant flow, and then injected into the intermediate stage of the compressor during the compression process, thereby enhancing refrigeration capacity.
The TEU series also supports a wide array of power supply types, meaning that it can be powered by an electric trucks existing batteries, a vehicle-mounted generator, and even dedicated TRU batteries.
Other features of the TEU series include a multi-evaporator system that enables simultaneous transport of cargo at different temperature ranges in a single vehicle, allowing for greater flexibility for operators.
