COOLING “


ple-compartment vehicle body – with ambient, cooled and frozen sections – through a day’s shift without exter- nal input. “With MFS Solar Kinetic we use solar and regeneration as a top-up fa- cility. It is all about battery optimisa- tion,” said Kane. “We have had a vehicle running in a non-solar powered environment and it has not used any vehicle power since September.”


That system has been trialled on a supermarket delivery van working in the north of Scotland. The Mercedes- Benz Sprinter was diesel-powered, but with the drive to the traditional V-200


It is all about battery


optimisation


Sprinter chassis, the system is suit- able for any large van. It can also be retro-fit onto existing vehicles, if they are equipped with the V-200 refrigera- tion unit. The real benefit however will be in pairing the technology with the E-200 full electric refrigeration sys- tem and an electrically-powered van or light truck.


refrigeration unit removed from the engine crankshaft and instead pow- ered by the battery-electric system. Even operating through the darker winter months, the system has main- tained temperatures within the deliv- ery vehicle, with no ability to draw on the vehicle’s power system. “The van is plugged in at the dis- tribution depot and we have the abil- ity for timed or remote starting before the morning shift,” said Kane. “We can precondition the body before driving and then it is ready to be loaded at the depot, even if the vehicle isn’t always connected.”


Though testing currently on a


He is candid enough to admit that the full electric system will carry a sub- stantial premium over an engine-pow- ered refrigeration unit. However, as with the vehicles themselves, van op- erators are finding other ways to justify the additional cost of EV use. Running into low-emission and clean air zones without daily charges will be one of the most convincing arguments. “Not everybody will electrify tomor-


row. They have the time to introduce small numbers of vans each year to tri- al the technology,” said Kane. With Marshall Renewables’ MFS Solar Kinetic EV refrigeration system, that technology is now commercially available.


MAY 2021 • VANUSER 15


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