After all, grocery-delivery companies, for example, can find themselves lugging up to 16,000 pounds of truck and cargo around, and that means a lot of fuel.
Electrorides hopes its electric commercial trucks can help ease that pain, and make some money in the process.
The startup, founded last year with $500,000 of self-funding, plans to come out of stealth mode next month when it debuts a prototype of its electric truck, called ZeroTruck, company founder and CEO Tedd Abramson told Greentech Media this week.-
The ZeroTruck has a converted 2008 Isuzu N-Series chassis, which customers can match with different bodies.
The company is building its first prototype of the medium-duty truck, which is a size up from the largest pickup trucks, but smaller than a big rig. Abramson said Electrorides plans to unveil the prototype at the Alternative Fuels and Vehicles National Conference, starting May 11 in Las Vegas.
Without cargo, the truck will be able to drive more than 100 miles on one charge. But the range could drop below 100 miles when fully loaded, when the truck can weigh more than seven tons.
The prototype is equipped with an electric motor from alternative-energy technology developer UQM Technologies (AMEX: UQM) and a lithium-polymer battery pack from South Korea manufacturer EIG. Abramson said Electrorides is considering other partners for its commercial version and hopes to finalize its suppliers by June.
The company plans to begin taking orders for the ZeroTruck in June, when it also expects to begin its beta phase, and to make its first deliveries in August, he said.
Aside from the all-electric version, Electrorides plans to offer a series-hybrid version of the ZeroTruck. And that’s where its own technology comes into play.
The company has developed a "carbon-neutral charging system," which is essentially a diesel engine modified to use 100-percent filtered vegetable oil or biodiesel. Drivers can control when to turn on the engine, which is attached to a generator and is mounted on the truck’s frame.
A series, or serial, hybrid usually pairs an electric motor with a fuel engine that gives the vehicle unlimited range. Unlike hybrids on the streets today, series hybrids use only the motor -- not the engine -- to propel the vehicle.
By filling up with vegetable oil or biodiesel, the company claims the hybrid version will get an additional 100 miles before having to refuel or recharge.
Electrorides is far from the first company racing to bring electric vehicles to the streets. Tesla Motors, perhaps the best-known electric-car startup, began "regular production" of its electric sports cars in March (see Tesla Begins ’Regular Production’ of Roadsters).
Last week, ZENN Motor Co. said it would launch its cityZENN, expected to drive up to 250 miles in one charge and reach a top speed of 80 miles per hour, in 2009, and Aptera said it would begin manufacturing its Typ-1 three-wheeled electric vehicle this year (see Sci-fi Inspired Vehicle to Hit California Roads).
And on Wednesday, Indianapolis-based EnerDel said it had delivered the first lithium-ion battery prototype for Norwegian electric-car company Think Global. The prototype is being evaluated for the new Think City model and EnerDel said it expects to have the battery pack operating in the vehicle by mid-year.
But the bulk of news has been about cars. Commercial truck manufactures haven’t been as eager to push for electric technology, said Chris Fisher, senior commercial analyst for Power Systems Research.
Instead, most commercial-truck manufacturers going green have focused on hybrid technology.
