We are- Nº8

I N N O V A T I O N 36 I N N O V A T I O N FCC Medioambiente and Irizar e-mobility presented the first e-mo- bility platform for Urban Services at the Smart City Expo World Con- gress, the leading smart environ- mental solution event. The vehicle is the result of an ambitious technolo- gical innovation project, VEMTESU (‘Highly Efficient, Electric-Powered Vehicular, Modular and Self-Su- pporting platforms for Urban Ser- vices’). The project has been de- veloped over the past four years in a consortium led by FCC, with the participation of another four ben- chmark companies of the Spanish market and two external collabora- tors, all of which are very relevant in the automotive sector and in scien- tific-technical and electrical-electro- nic technology areas. The project was jointly funded by the European Regional Develo- pment Fund (FEDER), within the framework of the 2014-2020 Opera- tional Programme for Smart Grow- th, sponsored by the Ministry of the Economy and Competitiveness through the Centre for Industrial Te- chnological Development (CDTI). 100% electric, plug-in, self-rechar- ging and recyclable The technical details of this innovati- ve technology have been unveiled by the Director of Technical Services of FCC Medio Ambiente, Alfonso Gar- cía, and by the Managing Director of Irizar e-mobility, Héctor Olabego- geaskoetxea. Alfonso García highlighted that “The main purpose of FCC in this project is to focus on the development of a fully urban and electric vehicle, with the versatility required in relation to types of bodywork and power needs, designed with a new modular chas- sis structure and permanent electric drive, as well as a very-low operator cab, moved forward and with a pano- ramic view, to improve ergonomics and facilitate the execution of servi- ces, with built-in bodywork and chas- sis controls. The driving framework is made up of an electric traction motor, high-power batteries and a unified electronic system”. According to Hector Olabegogeas- koetxea, “the global vision of Irizar Group on the electrification of cities has allowed us to present this inno- vative lorry today, which features state-of-the-art solutions, in terms of its design, safety and electrical tech- nology, which will operate on cities and urban environments with zero atmospheric and acoustic contami- nation levels. It features the group’s technologies, such as electric trac- tion, energy storage and control electronics, as well as all other sys- tems supplied. Without a doubt, this project has a promising future”. The unified electronics system con- trols the energy and power of the chassis and body. It has a unified ECU control centre, which, with its corresponding specific program- ming, provides a vehicle with maxi- mum energy optimisation. The vehicle is equipped with side loading bodywork to collect waste. The 100% electric Plug-in techno- logy means that the lorry drives out of the depot with the batteries fully charged and completes the service in a fully electric mode, therefore, operating as a ZEV vehicle (Ze- ro-Emission Vehicle). If the operating time needs to be extended, it uses a thermal/compressed natural gas (CNG) motor, which is solely used to charge the batteries. This auxiliary motor operates at a constant rate in its maximum efficiency point, achie- ving the minimum energy consump- tion and lowest possible emission level. Therefore, the vehicle’s bat- teries are charged during the trip to and from the waste treatment plant, after which the vehicle can start a new shift, if required. As an alterna- tive, the vehicle could operate in the full-electric mode or be driven by an H-cell (hydrogen). The batteries incorporated are of the latest generation of Lithium Ion. Its design is unique to this application FCC Environment and Irízar present the first e-mobility platform for Urban Services It reduces the energy consumed by over 50% when compared to conventional vehicles and drastically reduces emissions and CO 2 Vehicle unveiled at Smart City.